REGION — San Diego Superior Court services will be offered at a limited capacity during the winter holiday season this year as part of efforts to address a $9.6 million budget deficit.
A voluntary work furlough program offered to court employees during the holidays is expected to lead to “significantly reduced staffing levels” at county courthouses from Dec. 23 through Jan. 3, 2025.
The staffing shortage is expected to result in longer wait times at business offices and a closure of children’s waiting rooms at all courthouses except the Central Courthouse in downtown San Diego.
Court officials said restraining orders and “urgent matters with statutory deadlines” should continue to be scheduled normally.
The budget-saving measure is one of several actions court officials say are necessary to manage the cuts required by the 2024-25 fiscal budget.
Other efforts include not filling a number of employee vacancies, though “positions critical to ongoing operations or backed by grant funds may be filled,” a superior court news release states.
With fewer employees available, backlogs and other delays in court services are expected.
One-time technology funds will also be used to offset other court-related reductions.
Court officials said the belt-tightening measures aimed at addressing the deficit have allowed the court system to avoid layoffs and mandatory employee furloughs.
San Diego Superior Court Executive Officer Michael Roddy said in a statement, “We’ve explored all of our options and made every effort to make cuts that have the lowest impact on the public, but closing a $9.6 million budget gap will be noticed by court users. We hope that through these actions, we can weather this year’s budget reductions and begin planning for next fiscal year.”
