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District Clerk asks court to sustain ARPA positions, add imaging staff and boost jury outreach
Summary
The District Clerk asked commissioners to absorb ARPA positions into the general fund, add seven PCNs to relieve criminal court clerk burnout, and invest in sustained jury outreach after appearance rates fell to 14%.
District Clerk Marilyn Burgess presented operational priorities to address turnover, the criminal backlog and low jury participation.
Burgess asked the court to convert 16 ARPA‑funded positions (supporting associate judges and emergency dockets) to general‑fund PCNs because the courts created to reduce the criminal backlog cannot function without dedicated clerks. She also requested seven PCNs: four to shift misdemeanor scanning/indexing out of courtroom clerks into criminal imaging, two to form a family‑court call center for pro se filers, and one temporary PCN for a summer intern program. The district clerk emphasized that clerk pay is comparatively low, turnover is concentrated in high‑volume criminal courts and burnout is driving vacancies.
On jury outreach, Burgess said a 2024 paid outreach campaign modestly increased appearance rates from a low of 11% to 14%, but broad awareness of higher jury pay remains limited. She asked for annual outreach and more electronic summons reminders and text messaging to reach younger potential jurors and reduce last‑minute cancellations.
Next steps: The clerk will follow up with quantifiable cost estimates and OMB will return with budget‑amendment mechanics; commissioners asked for additional information on the ARPA‑to‑general‑fund transitions and parking concerns for lower‑paid employees.
