Judiciary: Budget will cripple the courts

The Legislature’s approved fiscal year 2009 budget for the judiciary branch will significantly affect operations, according to Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Miguel S. Demapan and Superior Court presiding Judge Robert C. Naraja.

In a letter to Gov. Benigno Fitial, House Speaker Arnold Palacios and Senate President Pete Reyes, the two said the pending budget would “cripple operations of the judicial branch.”

Since the December letter, overall budget figures have been reduced even further.

Fitial, citing an $8.7-million drop in revenue estimates, vetoed the $165.4-million budget on Dec. 24. Since Jan. 1, all government agencies have been forced to enact a 5.5 percent budget cut.

The proposed FY 2009 budget would affect personnel funding, utilities, non-personnel and building repairs for the judicial branch, Demapan and Naraja wrote. The Supreme Court would face an approximate shortfall of $95,000, requiring the termination of two full-time employees; the Superior Court would face a shortfall of $177,595, requiring the termination of several FTEs; and the judicial administration would incur a deficit of $20,000, forcing the termination of one FTE, according to the letter.

The hiring freeze would also impact the branch because law clerks, who assist judges and justices with research and writing opinions, typically only stay for a year or two.

“Although Section 604(b) permits the expenditure authority to hire replacements upon certification that the position is critical, the added delay and uncertainty will only complicate the inevitable hiring process and expend valuable court resources,” they wrote.

Also, forcing the judicial branch to cap salaries of non-judicial salaries at $50,000 will reduce key court managers, specifically the Court Director, the Clerk of Court and the Executive Director of the Law Revision Commission, according to Demapan and Naraja. The two ask for an amendment to allow the judicial branch professionals the ability to receive annual salaries in excess of $50,000.

The reduction in subsistence allowances will affect recruitment, they said.

Demapan and Naraja said utilities also would be greatly impacted. At the current price of $.337 per kilowatt-hour, the projected usage for FY 2009 is $627,000, far short of the $326,939 allotment.

Based on FY 2008 actual expenditures, the Supreme Court will be incurring a deficit of $5,000 in its “all others” account. The Superior Court would receive $93,648 less than the previous year’s continuing resolution budget of $265,702.

The Judicial Administration’s “all others” account is budgeted at $27,727 — 57 percent of which is meant for fixed costs, leaving $12,002.

Demapan and Naraja asks for an addition $500,000 as a separate line item for the repair and replacement of infrastructure, including the replacement of the air conditioner, the rehabilitation of the fire sprinkler system, the rehabilitation of the security and surveillance system, and structural repairs.