F R O M T H E C L E R K O F C O U R T & C O M P T R O L L E R Pat Frank - Hillsborough County Clerk of Court & Comptroller
It ’ s Time for Bold Action to Support Court Clerks
I believe the money my office collects locally should be spent locally . The Legislature , however , diverts millions of dollars every year for things that have nothing to do with the court system .
Here ’ s a question I have pondered for months : What will it take to get legislators to adequately fund Florida court clerks ? When the Florida Legislature wrapped up its regular session in early May , court clerks found themselves in a sad but familiar position . More budget cuts . Despite generating enough money to fund our operations through fines , fees , and costs , and despite the recommendations of a state agency the Legislature created to examine our needs , the Legislature once again reduced funding for all 67 Florida court clerks . As I have written before in this space , our budget has been cut every year for the past 10 years .
When the fiscal year begins Oct . 1 , my office will be operating with 10 fewer positions than we had a year ago . We will be able to do so through attrition , not layoffs , thanks to our conservative approach to spending .
When I first took office twelve years ago , I inherited a staff of 850 . We are now down to 689 .
Lawmakers return to Tallahassee this month for committee meetings as they prepare for the 2018 regular session , which starts in January ( it ’ s an election-year early session ). So here we go again . I believe the money my office collects locally should be spent locally . But that is not the case . Although Florida court clerks collected $ 777 million , we kept only $ 409 million . About $ 120 million went to prosecutors , public defenders , and the courts . But here ’ s what most people don ’ t realize : $ 145 million went straight into the General Fund to pay for things unrelated to access to justice .
Which brings me back to my original question . What do we need to do to demonstrate to lawmakers that clerk ’ s offices deserve adequate funding ?
I and my judicial partners from the courts , the State Attorney ’ s office , and the Public Defender ’ s office spoke to the Hillsborough Legislative Delegation before the
session to urge them to do all they could to help . I followed that with briefings for individual lawmakers and tours of our offices . I wrote emails , placed phone calls , and traveled to Tallahassee to meet with lawmakers in person .
While I appreciate the time and the interest every legislator showed , their hands were tied . Because the budget was finalized behind closed doors in the waning days of the session , there was little an individual lawmaker could do to influence the outcome .
One Florida clerk has already has filed a lawsuit against the Legislature for failing to meet its constitutional duty to provide court clerks with “ adequate and appropriate ” funding . There may be more lawsuits to come .
The ultimate answer to our dilemma is to change the state Constitution . When the Constitution Revision Commission met in Tampa in May , I urged its members to propose an amendment to Section 14 ( b ) of Article V so that clerks and their judicial partners are placed in a first priority to receive the local fines , fees , and costs that we collect , based upon our documented needs .
As members of the Hillsborough Bar , you depend on my office to serve your needs . I ask that each of you support this effort .
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