To reduce the budget by 20% I would contract with clerical workers for those jobs that can be done at home in a home office. This is the best place to start. This would eliminate a lot of overhead cost and therefore reduce the budget. The empty office spaces could then be leased out to private companies.

When taking into consideration the cost to open a building for a day, i.e. heat, electric, water, security, etc. it would be less expensive to hire clerical workers out of their home. The excess building space could be used to lease the space out and make a profit. Lawyers, sub shops, coffee shops, donut shops, to name a few, would make good lessees. This would make it very convenient for everyone, such as, the employees, visitors, police, because everything would be in one building. We all know that parking is hard to find at the city and county buildings and this way no one would have to leave to “grab lunch” and risk losing their parking space. It would also bring in income to help balance the budget.

This idea would also enable employees to keep their jobs and set up secure home offices. With technology today this would be more than feasible. This would not have an impact on courtroom security. This would impact the administration and the court system as a whole by making it more efficient. Many courts have cut their budgets by reducing their staff, cutting specialty courts, closing courthouses, and cutting security.

Budget cuts not only impact the employees in the court system but also the services to the public. Some courts have cut their hours and limited their court service days. This means longer drives to courthouses, long lines and waits, and delays in court cases. Some court users have to drive hours to reach their closest courthouse because their local courthouses have closed down. Many people have been deprived of access to justice in their communities.