Judiciary asks for $82.9 million in FY27 budget, seeks higher sheriff pay and new trainers to reduce backlog

The Senate Appropriations Committee heard the judiciary’s FY27 budget request on Feb. 20, with officials asking for a 5.6% increase to about $82.9 million and separate funding requests for staff, training and court security.

Greg Mills, the judiciary’s chief financial officer, told the committee “our appropriation is about 78 and a half million dollars” and that the judiciary’s request would be roughly $1.1 million above the governor’s recommendation. Mills said the governor’s recommended discretionary increase is about 4.2% and the judiciary’s ask of 5.6% would bring total funding to approximately $82.9 million.

Why it matters: Judiciary officials said the additional funding would fund personnel and services they say are essential to continue reducing a case backlog. About 72% of the judiciary’s expenses are salaries and benefits, with security contracts, IT, interpreters and other operating costs making up most of the rest, Mills said.

Officials asked the committee to approve three personnel changes: one additional help‑desk analyst, a set of dedicated statewide trainers organized by docket (criminal, family, civil/probate and juvenile/mental‑health) and conversion of extended limited‑service positions into permanent posts. The help desk request was supported with volume data: “we have 12,000 help‑desk requests a couple of year,” the State Court Administrator said, and industry standards of roughly one analyst per 2,000 requests underpin the request for an additional analyst. The trainers, officials said, would standardize onboarding, provide up‑to‑date materials and remotely fill in during leaves to prevent lost hearing days.

Security and sheriffs’ contract: The judiciary also relayed a Sheriffs Association request to raise the contract rate for sheriff deputies who staff courthouses. Mills said the executive branch currently contracts sheriff services at roughly $75 per hour and the judiciary’s current contract rate is about $57. “We tried to get them to move off of 75 because we’re at 57,” Mills said, describing a roughly 30% gap that sheriff departments say hinders recruitment and retention. Mills said Vermont has about 23 courthouses and roughly 40 sheriff deputies who provide most courthouse security, supplemented by court security employees and private contractors.

Mills told the committee that staffing shortages have had operational effects: “We have 1 courthouse that’s closed at the moment … We don’t have security to cover the front door, so it’s closed,” he said, referring to the Newport (Orleans County) courthouse. Mills said the Sheriffs Association is seeking an increase to better retain deputies but noted the request was not included in the governor’s recommendation.

IT and cybersecurity: The judiciary said it has separated its IT operations from the state’s central ADS unit and is migrating remote hearings from Webex toward Zoom. Officials reported improved network redundancy and Wi‑Fi in courthouses and said cybersecurity and licensing costs are part of current services increases included in the governor’s recommendation; they requested additional cybersecurity software funding above the governor’s proposal.

Vacancy savings and budgeting mechanics: Committee members questioned changes to the judiciary’s vacancy‑savings assumption. Mills said the governor’s budget increased the vacancy‑savings assumption by about $285,000 — a change the judiciary described as an effective cut because it reduces available funding unless the judiciary deliberately holds positions vacant. Mills noted vacancy levels vary year to year and said the judiciary prefers not to use vacancies to meet budget targets because it would slow progress on the backlog.

Next steps: Judiciary officials offered to follow up with committee questions and documents. The committee did not take a formal vote during the session recorded in the transcript.