Terry Corson, the State Court Administrator, and Greg Mosley, the judiciary’s chief of finance and administration, asked the House Appropriations Committee on Dec. 17 to approve Budget Adjustment Act changes to cover a negotiated sheriff contract rate increase and pilot-court costs and to begin administrative steps to make 26 term-limited judiciary positions permanent.

Corson and Mosley said the sheriff contract rate will rise to $57 an hour, a $3-per-hour increase that they estimate will cost $558,566 and help preserve deputy coverage in courthouses amid recruitment challenges. Mosley told the committee three counties currently do not contract for courthouse deputies after retirements and difficulties in recruitment.

The presenters described a separate three-month pilot in Chittenden County — described in the hearing as an “accountability” docket — that began in November. That pilot brought a retired judge, courtroom operator and security officers together with a special prosecutor and support staff to focus on defendants with five or more open dockets; the judiciary’s presented cost for those three months was $128,716. Corson said the pilot’s success will be judged on measurable caseflow outcomes, including how many cases are disposed and whether those cases are handled faster than in the regular calendar.

Corson also raised a third personnel item: in FY2024 the judiciary received 26 limited‑service positions that were funded from general funds and treated as part of the base appropriation, but those positions remain term‑limited through 2028. Corson asked the committee to consider converting those positions to permanent status, saying that conversion would improve retention and provide certainty for staff who require significant training. Greg Mosley confirmed that, per current practice, limited service employees receive the same benefits as permanent staff and that the conversion is largely an administrative change.

Committee members probed how the pilot’s effectiveness will be measured and how transport and staffing pressures factor into budget needs. Corson emphasized that final evaluation data will be available when the pilot ends in February and that key metrics include case dispositions, time to disposition and linkage to service providers. The presenters also warned that transport constraints and overtime for transport deputies affect overall costs to the judiciary.

The requests discussed were presented as Budget Adjustment Act items for the committee’s consideration; no formal vote occurred at the hearing. The committee asked for follow-up details and for staff to work with finance and management on how these items are shown in the FY27 budget process.

The Judiciary said it will return with additional information and clarified the requests are intended to preserve courthouse operations and to evaluate whether the accountability model should be expanded in modified form to other counties.