Clerks Wary Of Plan To Reassign Some Duties

Paula O'Neil spent six years learning the inner workings of the office before running for Pasco County Clerk of Court last year.

Now, just weeks into her first term, O'Neil faces the prospect of losing a good portion of her responsibilities. Two state legislators recently filed bills that would take the court-related functions of the state's elected clerks and reassign them to the judicial branch's appointed administrators.

Although the mechanics of the proposed switch are sketchy, O'Neil said the change would remove her office's responsibility for keeping court files and evidence, processing and paying jurors, and attending court proceedings, among other things. She would remain the county's comptroller and auditor.

Clerks across the state, including O'Neil, have been outspoken in their opposition to the bills.

"If I felt like it would be better to go directly to the judicial branch with paperwork, I would step aside," O'Neil said Wednesday. "But the public is best served by a nonpartisan, objective agency taking that paperwork. We know what the statutes are and how it has to be handled."

Both the House and Senate versions of the bill state that the Legislature is looking for ways to "eliminate bureaucracy and the duplication of effort by providing additional legislative and judicial oversight of the provision of court-related services."

The bills likely are a response to a memo issued by the Office of the State Courts Administrator in January that outlines a plan for establishing a stable funding system for the courts during economic downturns. The memo calls for re-evaluating how filing fees, fines, service charges and court costs are allocated.

On Feb. 9, the state's 20 chief circuit court judges met with state court officials and Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince. In a letter to his staff, Robert Morris, chief judge of the Pasco-Pinellas circuit, said those in attendance voted unanimously to support the proposed bills.

"The consensus was that, given the dire economic climate of Florida and the worsening budget crisis, it would be more efficient financially and operationally for these functions to be handled by the courts," Morris wrote.

State officials are studying the proposed bills to determine how much money they might save. But clerks statewide are disputing dollar figures they say are being put forth as justifications for the move.

The clerks point out that their budgets, though not appropriated through the Legislature, are reviewed and certified by the Clerks of Court Operations Corp., a board established by the Legislature.

O'Neil said clerks also are required to cap their budgets based on a formula developed by the state Department of Financial Services, which then audits the budgets.

"We do whatever they tell us to do by statute," O'Neil said. "We want the justice system to work and we kind of feel like we're being criticized for being cooperative."