AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine’s chief justice said Thursday that she is hopeful the judicial branch can find ways to weather the next round of deep budget cuts without closing courthouses in rural areas of the state.
But should the Legislature demand that some of Maine’s 39 courthouses be shuttered, District Court facilities in Millinocket, Lincoln, Madawaska, Calais and Rumford would be on the short list, Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Leigh Saufley said.
Gov. John Baldacci has directed the judicial branch of government to identify an additional $4.3 million in budget cuts as part of the state’s effort to close a shortfall now expected to climb beyond $400 million. Lawmakers and Baldacci administration officials will decide exactly how much of a cut the court system would be forced to absorb when the Legislature reconvenes in January.
“That amount of $4.3 million over 20 months would really be devastating and we are continuing to work with the governor and the Judiciary Committee to figure out what to do,” the chief justice told members of a courthouse advisory committee.
In her presentation, Saufley outlined a rough plan to save money by not filling the 30 to 40 existing staff vacancies and by reducing the days or hours some courthouses are open. That would likely add to the backlog and could cause headaches for the public, she acknowledged.
“My hope is not to close any courthouses, with the possible exception of Madawaska, and not to lay off any staff,” she told the committee.
Madawaska’s court is typically only open one day every three weeks and uses staff who travel from the Fort Kent facility. Judicial representatives have been talking with Madawaska officials for some time about eliminating court hours in the town.
Closing courthouses in rural Maine likely would save the state between $50,000 and $75,000 a year in facilities costs for each location because the space is leased. There likely would be no savings on staff costs because those positions — and all of the cases they handle — would have to be transferred elsewhere, she said.
“You can’t save on personnel costs because the cases still exist,” she said.
Saufley called for maintaining the leases on all of the courthouses except Madawaska and, instead, operating the facilities less often in hopes of restoring service levels once the economy recovers. Committee members endorsed the plan, which will be presented to the Judiciary Committee.
But recognizing the fact that lawmakers may demand closures, Saufley said that, if requested, she would propose also eliminating the court services in Calais, Lincoln, Millinocket and Rumford.
Committee member Evert Fowle, district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset counties and president of the Maine Prosecutors Association, questioned whether the savings from closing courthouses or scaling back services would be worth the social costs.
Fowle gave the example of someone who needed a protection order but was unable to obtain one fast enough because the local courthouse was closed.
Fowle also pointed out that judicial offices were closed the Friday before Labor Day as part of the government shutdown days included in the current budget. When he came back to work, eight or nine people had been arrested on Thursday and spent the long weekend in jail — at taxpayers’ expense — who otherwise likely would have been released if offices were open on Friday.
“This is a core function of state government,” Fowle said of the court system. “This is why we have state government.”
Sen. David Hastings, a Fryeburg Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said he was uncomfortable with any proposals that targeted courthouses in rural areas of the state.
“If there is pain that has to be suffered from this, it has to be suffered statewide,” Hastings said.