Judge Stinson requests 14 more courtroom deputies; BET wrestles with BCC, jail staffing and premium estimates

Judge Stinson asked the Budget Evaluation Team to consider allocating 14 additional deputies to courthouse courtrooms, saying the lack of courtroom deputies had contributed to a recent hallway incident and that added deputies would protect jurors, attorneys, judges and staff.

"Court safety is a huge issue. It's huge concern. It's just getting worse," Judge Stinson said, urging the panel to consider reassignment or new hires to reach a total of 50 deputies (the transcript records the current number as 36 and the requested increase of 14).

Members followed with an extended discussion of several linked items that affect staffing and operating costs. The team debated a $1.6 million transportation entry on the future-forecast tracker tied to operations at the Behavioral Care Center (BCC), which multiple members said appears to be a placeholder and not yet corroborated by departmental estimated needs. Finance staff said the $1.6M entry might be refined by the September supplement if necessary; the BET voted to remove the forecast tracker from the working worksheet but left it as a separate reference document so those figures remain visible for planning.

The jail’s estimated needs were also a substantive point: members discussed an increase in head count and a request that added 27 detention officers be reflected in premium calculations. Participants questioned enrollment and participation assumptions used to derive employer health premium estimates, noting a prior employer-premium supplement of about $15.7 million the previous fiscal year and that total premiums are captured across multiple lines (general fund, special revenue and cash transfers). Finance staff agreed to verify current enrollment figures and enrollment-based premium calculations with departments and return updated numbers at the next meeting or via the September supplement.

The BET asked staff to reach out to the courts, the sheriff’s office and jail administration to nail down the specifics — head-count assumptions, which positions would be reassigned versus newly funded, and the transportation needs for the BCC — and to present updated estimates at the reconvened session the next day.