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Criminal court clerk asks for $453,655 to shore up pay and upgrade court technology
Summary
Criminal court clerk Heidi told the committee the office is seeing declining revenue and high staff turnover and proposed $311,285 for salary increases for lower-paid staff and $132,370 for technology, totaling $453,655 for FY-26.
The Shelby County criminal court clerk (identified in the transcript as Heidi) told commissioners the office is experiencing reduced collections, significant staffing turnover and a need for technology investments to improve public access and efficiency. She said the office’s average collections fell from approximately $3.4 million to about $2.6 million, in part because the state denied some reimbursements (about $200,000 owed) and other county reimbursements have been delayed.
Heidi described a turnover rate of roughly 50% for hires between 2001 and January 2025 and said about 70% of current staff earn less than $40,000 annually; she requested $311,285 to raise wages for employees under $40,000 (affecting roughly 61 employees) and $132,370 for technology upgrades, including a research module and court analytics shared with General Sessions and a redaction program to protect personal information. "I am requesting a pay increase for all my employees who make less than $40,000," she said.
Commissioners asked for headcount breakdowns and for the clerk’s office to provide more detailed staffing data; the clerk said she would share those figures and that the office expects technology upgrades to improve transparency and public research capabilities. No formal vote was taken on the funding request at the meeting.
