Shelby County Chancery Court presents net-revenue budget, requests $106,000 increase and a case-management upgrade

Clark Aaron Hall, Clerk of Master for Shelby County Chancery Court, told the Budget and Finance Committee Subcommittee No. 1 that the office expects to collect more in fees and commissions this fiscal year than originally budgeted and requested an approximately $106,000 increase in its FY26 budget for operations and personnel.

Hall said the court projects roughly $3,840,000 in budgeted revenue but currently expects about $4,600,000 by year-end — roughly a 20% increase over the budgeted figure — driven largely by fees tied to delinquent tax property lawsuits and commissions from tax sales. "We are one of the few offices that have net revenue, and generally contribute quite a bit back to the general fund," Hall said.

The court handles a high volume of civil work: Hall described annual averages of about 2,200 lawsuits, roughly 62,000 docket entries and approximately 22,000 service-of-process items related to tax-sale litigation. He said the office processes roughly 6,300 receipts annually and that the system of tax sales is divided across several sales per year; the office typically lists about 22,000 lawsuit items and sells roughly 5,000 parcels in a typical year, though this year it scheduled only three sales so far.

Hall outlined the FY26 request as approximately $106,000 in total increases. He broke the request into these categories: about $22,050 for operations and maintenance (furnishings, minor upgrades not covered by CIP), roughly $12,000 for an additional legal research subscription (LexisNexis) requested by the chancellors, and approximately $83,847 total (including fringes) to raise pay for three judicial law clerk positions — roughly $27,000 per position with fringes. Hall said the office’s own projected revenue would cover those increases.

Hall also described a long-running effort to replace the chancery court’s roughly 20-year-old judicial case management system, which he said lacks modern accounting and reporting features. The system, Hall said, operates on legacy code and requires workarounds (he gave the example of requiring an Internet Explorer compatibility extension for some remote work). He said the county and the four civil courts have pursued contractors and that a full replacement remains a multi-year capital improvement project that is separate from the chancery operating budget.

Vice Chair Avant and Commissioner Wright asked operational questions about receipts and the mechanics of tax sales. Hall said Shelby County’s tax sales are conducted online now (private foreclosure auctions traditionally occurred on courthouse steps), and that scheduling and staffing constraints determine whether the county runs three, four or five sales in a year. Hall said the timing of sales can be driven by factors such as the 10-year collection period for some parcels.

Hall described integration goals with the county’s planned enterprise resource planning (ERP) and said he has participated in the ERP planning process. He said the goal is for court accounting and transfers to integrate with the county finance system to reduce manual checks and internal transfers.

Hall also told commissioners that the historic courthouse’s physical constraints have limited some technology and interior renovation options; remaining exterior-only CIP funds mean some interior updates must be handled from the court’s operating budget.

The presentation did not produce a formal vote. Hall requested the increase and described how projected revenue would cover personnel and O&M costs. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about tax-sale timing, online auctions and system integration; Hall and Chief Administrator Gina Boone answered those questions.

Ending: The subcommittee did not take formal action on Hall’s request at the session. Hall said he will continue to pursue the case-management upgrade as a separate CIP effort and that the Chancery Court’s projected net revenue would cover the requested FY26 increases.