The Clerk of Circuit Court's director of Court Services provided clarifying budget information during the Committee on Finance public hearing. Anna Maria Hodges stated that the office has "297 positions assigned," and that a previously circulated PowerPoint had been prepared before the County Executive's final budget; Hodges said department staff presented earlier figures to show requested budgets while noting the county executive's recommended reductions.
Hodges gave the committee the Clerk of Circuit Court recommended budget totals from the county executive's submission: total expenditures of $32,914,145; total revenues of $15,231,488; and a tax levy of $17,000,682.65. She said the presentation reflected expected reductions and that the department "takes no issue with the reductions presented by the county executive." Hodges also noted Mary Ferwerda (chief deputy clerk of circuit courts) was available as a contact while the clerk of circuit courts' family is experiencing a recent death.
Supervisors used the clarification to close a prior discrepancy between slide content and the county executive's numbers; Hodges said the PowerPoint was prepared before the final executive budget and that the department aligned its presentation with the recommended reductions.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the clerk's budget during the public hearing; the exchange was recorded as part of the informational record.