Municipal court officials outline ARPA-funded programs and FY27 staffing request, urge plan funding

Court Administrator Sherry Harville and Municipal Judge McCune briefed the council on the municipal court’s use of ARPA and other grant funds, results from several pilot programs and a request for the FY27 financial plan to include funding to continue staff and services now paid with grant dollars.

Harville told the council the court currently has 13 grant-funded positions and that about $120,000 in ARPA funds remain that the court expects to expend by June 30. She also said the court is managing approximately $1.8 million in CRF (COVID Relief Fund) dollars and that those CRF dollars could last through June 30, 2027 if used only for personnel costs.

Harville said the mayor’s proposed budget includes funding to convert one part-time public defender to full time, one municipal court supervisor and, in the FY27 financial plan, an additional judicial clerk position. She estimated the annual cost to transition those positions into ongoing funding at roughly $789,000.

Program outcomes presented to the council included: - Special services docket (Jan 2021–Dec 2024): 460 graduates; $104,000 in fines and fees waived; the court estimated $1,300,000 in jail-cost savings associated with the program. Harville said case management support for that docket costs roughly $79,000 annually for an embedded case manager and that the fully encompassing program would be about $250,000 per year. - Court advocate (started July 2023): through November 2024, 978 participants served; 728 received housing referrals (Harville said staff would follow up to report how many referrals resulted in housing placements). - Service Oklahoma embedded at courthouse (Aug 2024–Apr 2025): 6,164 visitors to the Service Oklahoma office at the courthouse; 4,524 received general information on reinstating a driver’s license and 1,640 reinstated their driver’s license. - Driver’s license testing program: early-stage results included eight people tested and passing the driver’s exam. - Night Court (Thursdays, 4–7 p.m., started Sept 2023): through Dec 2024 the court recorded 1,332 appearances, 3,841 cases heard and 1,807 warrants cleared; the night-court docket had about a 70% appearance rate versus an earlier 63% baseline. - Transportation assistance (started Sept 2022): through Dec 2024 there were 1,351 participants and 2,689 bus passes distributed; 82% of those defendants who received a bus pass appeared in court, compared with about 63% baseline—an increase the presenter highlighted as evidence of effectiveness. - Financial counseling (FEC, started Sept 2023): 379 people referred, 53 completed; Harville said roughly $26,000 in fines and fees were suspended as a result for participants.

Officials said several ARPA-funded programs will expire Sept. 30, 2026, and urged the council to consider including ongoing funding in the FY27 plan for programs they recommended preserving. No formal vote or council decision on funding was recorded during the meeting; much of the presentation was a request for funding consideration and a discussion of program outcomes.

Council questions focused on program costs, requests for a prioritized ranking of programs by return on investment, clarity on which positions are currently funded by grants and which the court is seeking to transition to the general fund, and requests for follow-up data (for example, how many housing referrals resulted in actual placements).