Jennifer Weber, Director of Court Support Services and one of the county’s family court commissioners, told the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors in her annual report that the department is operating with one fewer commissioner and that staffing constraints are affecting the timing of hearings.

Weber said the department consolidated several functions into Court Support Services in 2024 and showed operational gains, including a revenue increase (reported as more than 50% since restructuring) after hiring a full-time bookkeeper. But she emphasized the practical limits the office faces now that it has gone from three commissioners to one: ‘‘When you go 3 to 1, the community is gonna suffer. We will not hit the statutory marks,’’ Weber said, describing potential delays in criminal bail reviews and eviction hearings if the vacancy is not filled.

Weber told supervisors she hoped to have the vacant commissioner position filled within 30 days and that judges were assisting to reduce backlogs in the interim. She described one day in which she had only 20 minutes between hearings and said workloads have increased in part because of a 150% rise in hearings requiring interpreters in 2024 — ‘‘almost 2,000 hearings in 2024 that required interpreters.’’ She explained that courtroom proceedings require court-certified interpreters and that the oral portion of the certification is difficult; the state recently certified only two additional interpreters, leaving roughly 20 Spanish-certified interpreters statewide, Weber said. Noncertified translation tools (phone or Google Translate) remain usable for many non‑court interactions but not for proceedings held ‘‘in the four walls’’ of a courtroom.

Weber also reported operational volume and outcomes: the commissioner’s office held more than 5,600 hearings in 2024, the family-court mediation and custody-study workloads met statutory deadlines, and the county hosted the Family Court Commissioners Association biannual conference, which she said drew officials from across Wisconsin.

Weber asked the board for patience while recruitment is completed and thanked county staff and the board for investments in courthouse renovations and technology that she said support continued service delivery.

Judge Dearing, who preceded Weber’s presentation, reviewed the court’s annual numbers and likewise noted that staffing shortfalls (the court has been down one commissioner during the year) make sustaining current efficiency a challenge; he said the county’s investment in courthouse renovations and technology has supported performance but that filling the vacancy is a priority to maintain timeliness.

Neither Weber nor the judges proposed reducing statutory protections; rather they described administrative constraints that require filling the vacant commissioner position and additional certified interpreter capacity to avoid statutory delays.