LAKE COUNTY — The Lake County Superior Court is considering closing clerk offices and courtrooms for 13 additional days during the current fiscal year to address budget reductions.
The 13 days would be unpaid furlough days for all employees but would not be enacted until after a public comment period, which expires in mid-September.
The court received a budget reduction of nearly $300,000, or 6.7 percent, for fiscal year 2011-12 and has seen a cumulative reduction of about 12 percent since 2009-10, according to Court Executive Officer Mary Smith.
“The Lake court has been historically underfunded and accordingly does not have sufficient reserves to offset these unsustainable budget reductions,” Smith wrote in a public notice posted at the Lake County Courthouse.
The proposed closure days would allow the local court to preserve employees and minimize the impact to the public in light of the budget reductions, according to Smith.
The closure days would not be considered judicial holidays for the purposes of filing deadlines and other time requirements. The proposed dates are Nov. 21 to 23, Dec. 27 to 30, Jan. 6, Feb. 3, March 2, April 6, May 4 and June 1. There would be no staff available or drop-box service in Clearlake on those days. There would be minimal staff at the Lakeport courthouse for emergency matters, which would be handled exclusively in Lakeport. A drop box for routine filings would be available in Lakeport from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Additionally, one courtroom in Lakeport would be available to hear mandatory last-day criminal matters, in-custody criminal arraignments and other emergency matters only. All other matters would be heard on the next available court day.
The court will be accepting comments on the proposed closure dates until Sept. 12. Comments must be submitted in writing to Mary Smith, court executive officer, at 255 N. Forbes St. Lakeport, CA 95453 or mary.smith@lake.courts.ca.gov.
