Pulaski County Superior Court asks commissioners to fund court navigator full year, seeks staffing shift in probation office amid rising jury costs

Summary

Superior Court and probation staff presented budget requests including full-year funding for the court navigator post, a request to convert a part-time office administrator to full time instead of hiring a new probation officer, and noted rising jury-trial costs and grant-funded programs that offset county expenses.

Pulaski County Superior Court and probation staff asked county decision-makers Aug. 13 to fund a full year of a court navigator position and to change probation-office staffing to cover a departing probation officer while limiting new salary costs.

Judge Crystal Coker, speaking for Superior Court, told county leaders the court’s budget pressures are driven largely by jury trials and related expenses and that the court is asking the county to fund the navigator position for a full year. She said the county currently has 2,081 pending cases and that jury-trial volume and appeals have significantly increased costs tied to juror pay, mileage, postage, staff overtime and other trial-related items.

The court described the navigator as a central referral point who connects people to treatment and services, supports pretrial and problem-solving court programs and provides soft handoffs from court to service providers. The navigator’s work, the court said, is associated with lower recidivism and reduced jail…

Pulaski County Superior Court asks commissioners to fund court navigator full year, seeks staffing shift in probation office amid rising jury costs

Summary

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