Circuit Court clerk seeks four staff positions amid dispute over fee funding

Circuit Court Chief Administrative Officer Michael Burnett Joyner and administrative assistant Fred Doris pressed the Budget & Finance Committee on Oct. 22 to approve four full-time positions for the Circuit Court Clerk’s office, saying those roles could be funded from fees the office collected in 2024 and from stronger-than-projected FY2026 first-quarter receipts.

Joyner recounted the history: the commission adopted a December 2024 resolution that referenced excess 2024 fees as the funding source for the positions, and Joyner said attempts to secure the FTEs afterward were unsuccessful even though the O&M funds were obtained. He told commissioners the December 2024 resolution specifically tied the FTEs to 2024 collected fees and not to the general fund.

Fred Doris provided a concrete figure for the committee: "Our first quarter funds so far today is $545,715," he said, adding that that total represented roughly 38% of the office’s projected goal. Joyner and Doris said those receipts — together with the 2024 excess-fee language in the prior resolution — supported the clerk's request and that administration previously approved related O&M spending.

Deputy Director of Finance Danielle Schonbaum told the committee finance had not had an opportunity to review the item and therefore could not recommend approval. Given the outstanding reconciliation and the need for a single source of truth, committee members voted to send the request to the full commission without a recommendation so finance and the clerk’s office could reconcile their figures.

Next steps: committee chair asked administration and the clerk’s office to reconcile projections and provide a single set of audited numbers for Monday’s commission session; the item will return with that documentation or without recommendation if alignment is not reached.