Shelby County General Sessions courts seek new staff, tech upgrades and decade-long archiving in FY26 budget presentations

Tammy Sawyer, General Sessions court clerk, told the Shelby County Budget Subcommittee on March 19 that the General Sessions Court Clerk’s Office is asking the county for staff and technology funding in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.

Sawyer said the office has 47 employees and 15 temporary staff, with eight vacancies, and that “about 84% of our budget is paying salaries and benefits.” She described recent hiring and backlog reductions and asked for new positions and equipment to continue progress.

The request includes funding for two countywide technology projects and staff increases. Sawyer said the clerk’s office is seeking a share of $71,750 for an upgrade to the Tyler case-management system and roughly $71,000 to begin a county-wide archival digitization effort with the Register of Deeds. The office also proposed 22 additional positions spread across civil and criminal courts and finance to address turnover and audit findings, Sawyer said.

Why it matters: General Sessions handles criminal and civil dockets across Shelby County and serves as a data source for multiple agencies. Court leaders told commissioners staffing and outdated systems are constraining case processing and reporting.

Key details and context

- Workload and staffing: Sawyer said the office has been filling vacancies since January and hiring “2 to 3 new employees every two weeks” but still needs more staff because the operation is paper-heavy and the county’s largest…