Articles >> NH Court System Could be Reorganized

NH Court System Could be Reorganized

March 24, 2011
Author: Jillian Jorgensen
Eagle Tribune

About 60 court employees statewide could have their jobs eliminated, reclassified or be demoted on July 1 if the Legislature approves a reorganization that puts district, family division and probate courts under one umbrella.

The proposal would combine the courts into a circuit court with shared management, but would leave all the court locations open, Administrative Judge Edwin Kelley said yesterday. But the reduction of about 60 management positions is expected to save about $1 million a year, Kelley said.

Because of the change, all clerks and deputy clerks would have to apply for new positions.

There are now 52 clerks in the district, family division and probate system. Under the circuit court system, that would be reduced to 21 clerks. Eleven clerk positions would be eliminated through layoffs or retirements. Another 23 clerks would be demoted, Kelley said.

There now are 60 deputy clerks, Kelley said, but the circuit court system would only have 28.

"Once we hire all the new deputy clerks, we then will go back through all the courts and see how the organizational structure looks in each of the courts," he said.

While a deputy clerk position may no longer be necessary, there may still be a need for someone to help managing cases. Deputy clerks who didn't get one of the new circuit court deputy clerks positions may be reclassified to a court assistant – and a lower pay grade.

"We're hoping that all of the clerks find a place within the new system," Kelley said. "The last thing we want to do is lose their incredibly valuable experience."

Employees have known for months about the plans for a circuit court, he said. Originally, officials planned to reduce the management positions through attrition.

"The Legislature made it very clear to us that was a nonstarter, and we would need to do this immediately," Kelley said.

So Kelley, who oversees the state's district courts and family division, met with clerks Tuesday to tell them the switch could come as soon as July 1. They can apply for the new circuit court jobs, he said.

"Their jobs will not exist," he said. "So, technically, they're really now applying for new jobs."

Kelley cautioned House Bill 609 has not been acted on in the Senate. But House leaders want the court system to be ready if it does pass.

"So, on July 1, assuming it passes, when it becomes effective we would throw the switch," he said.

There could be further court system layoffs due to overall budget issues, he said.

Chief Justice Linda Stewart Dalianis said in a statement yesterday layoffs are expected – despite the House bumping up the branch's budget to $2.9 million more than proposed by the governor. Some of that money will be used to invest in the recommendations of the Innovation Commission, Dalianis said. That short-term investment is designed "to save millions of taxpayer dollars in the future."

"While we still expect to experience layoffs, the total number will now be less than we have been anticipating thus far," Dalianis said.

The switch to a circuit court system was among many proposals made by the Innovation Commission. It was charged with looking at the court's structure and determining if the system is operating efficiently and, if not, how it can better serve the state.

"The answer to that first question was no," Kelley said. "We are not operating as efficiently as we can." The new system would consolidate several courts under a single clerk. Each county would have a circuit court, with locations at each district court. The circuit court would have three divisions for district, family and probate court, but would no longer have a separate clerk for each.

Locally, the plan calls for one clerk to oversee what is now Salem District Court, Plaistow District Court and Salem Family Division. That clerk also would handle some probate work, such as adoption petitions. In Salem, one clerk already oversees both the district court and the family division. But Plaistow has its own clerk.

The clerk positions at Derry District Court and Candia District Court would be combined, with one clerk overseeing those courts and both family division courts as well, Kelley said.

The bulk of local probate cases would still be conducted in Brentwood in the Superior Court building, since the probate records need to be kept in a single place.

There, a single clerk would oversee Rockingham County Probate, Brentwood Family Division and Exeter District Court. The position of Register of Probate would be changed drastically, responsible only for keeping the court's old records and earning just $100 a year, Kelley said.

Some people who interact with the court system may have noticed a backlog, but Kelley said the plan is to run more smoothly with fewer employees.

"I honestly believe that things will run very much more smoothly," he said. "We'll have our startup glitches, no question, but I'm convinced it will be a much more efficient system and save money."

Clerks will no longer spend time processing cases, Kelley said.

"It will truly be a management position," he said.

Reclassified deputy clerks would process cases, but a plan also calls for part-time employees to process cases at night, Kelley said. That would be more efficient, he said.

"We put them in a courthouse to do that data processing at the worst time of day, between 8 to 4, when the phone is ringing and people are at the counter," he said.

Clerks and other employees at the court locations will also have to deal with fewer phone calls, Kelley said. Seventy percent of the calls are general enough to be answered using a court-wide case management system. The state plans to launch a centralized call center for questions, probably in Concord.

All that should allow clerks more time to oversee multiple courts and more time to serve people who come to court, Kelley said. Despite all the changes, things would look the same to most people, Kelley said.

"I don't think a member of the public is going to notice any difference, even someone who uses the court on a regular basis," Kelley said.

Copyright © 2011 Eagle Tribune

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Articles >> NH Court System Could be Reorganized