An unexpected $300,000 request by the Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office sparked surprise and frustration from county commissioners Wednesday.
Criminal Court Clerk Vince Dean told commissioners he needs the money to offset a shortfall in his current personnel budget. What commissioners wanted to know is why Dean brought the request so late in the fiscal year, which ends June 30.
“Why do the numbers all of a sudden come to light?” asked finance committee chairman Tim Boyd. “This didn’t just happen yesterday. So, how come we are just now being told about this?”
When Dean said his office has been working with the county finance department since fall, Boyd asked why commissioners hadn’t been briefed between September and December.
“Quite simply, if we had come to you in November, I think we would have been asking for $500,000 rather than $300,000,” said Dean. “If we had come to you in December or January, we may have been asking for $400,000. Things have gotten a lot better than they were.”