MUSCATINE, Iowa – As expected, Gov. Chet Culver’s mandatory, statewide budget cuts have hit the Muscatine County Courthouse.

But just because local officials were prepared to take a hit, the impact will be felt nonetheless, both by co-workers and the public.

The announcement came in October that hundreds of state workers would be laid off or asked to take furlough days due to a burgeoning budget deficit. Last week, four court employees in Muscatine were laid off.

By slicing 10 percent  across the board, Culver hopes to help balance a budget tilting several hundred million dollars into the red and reduce operating expenses in the judicial branch by $4.1 million this fiscal year.

The four layoffs occurred Nov. 16, and included one person in the clerk’s office, said Jeff Tollenaer, clerk of court. Another of Tollenaer’s 13 employees will retire in January 2010 and that position will not be filled, leaving 11 people, including Tollenaer, in his office.

“With two fewer people we just won’t get things done in a timely fashion as we did before,” Tollenaer said Monday. “This is all beyond our control. We will muddle through and keep our offices running the best we can.”

Two juvenile court officers and one clerical worker/court attendant were also laid off in the round of cuts.

In addition, courthouses will be closed for 10 days and employees will be required to take furlough days without pay. The first closing will be Friday, Dec. 4, with other days to follow through June 2010.

The State Court Administrator’s Office chose the furlough days, many of which are around holidays, hoping to have minimal affect on the public.

But still, Tollenaer said, civil cases and divorces will likely be among those that are pushed back.

“The Supreme Court will issue a list of priorities that we are expected to follow,” he said.

Effect of cuts

The latest action is particularly hard to swallow for courthouse workers because they had to take five days of unpaid leave already this year. In March, the Legislature cut the fiscal ’09 budget by $3.8 million, resulting in five court closure days, travel reductions and other cuts.

Clerk’s office employees will be able to make up for lost time beginning Dec. 15 when their doors will be closed to the public every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:30-4:30 p.m.

“They can use that time to work without being interrupted,” Tollenaer said.

The Iowa Supreme Court issued this order to alleviate issues caused by the workforce cut. Statewide, The downsizing included the layoff of 66 clerk of court employees, reduced hours for 35 additional clerk employees, 14 retirements and the elimination of 43 vacant clerk positions. The cuts were based on seniority and a formula that calculated the number of workers compared to the number of cases handled.  The calculation took that base number and subtracted 12 percent more from Tollenaer’s office.

Tollenaer said he probably would have only lost one clerk’s office employee had the number of cases handled in Muscatine County not changed so much. In 2009, there were 16,200 cases filed at his office; that’s up from 13,700 in 2008 and 15,400 in 2007.

“We came up short in 2007,” he said, adding that everyone in his department is sad to have lost one of their co-workers and friends. The coworker who was laid off is on a call-back list, so if the economy improves she will be offered back her position.

“I expect we’ll be down a couple of people for two to three years or more,” Tollenaer said. “We are in a recession, maybe even a depression, and if tax revenues continue to decrease I expect more layoffs or more furlough days.”

Furlough day details

The Muscatine County Courthouse will be closed for mandatory furloughs on the following days:

Friday, Dec. 4

Thursday, Dec. 24

Thursday, Dec. 31

Friday, Jan. 15

Monday, Feb. 15

Friday, March 12

Friday, March 26

Friday, April 2

Friday, May 28

Friday, June 18

In addition to the above days, the Clerk’s Office will also be closed from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, beginning Dec. 15