Norfolk court lays off 7; other cities may follow

A local circuit court clerk laid off seven staffers Friday, the first of what probably will be a wave of courthouse dismissals and possible furlough days triggered by state budget cuts.

"It's a terrible day for me and some service workers, but revenue is down. We have to adjust and take a hit," said Norfolk Circuit Court Clerk George Schaefer, who laid off the workers and eliminated two positions to make up for a $245,000 decline in state funding.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's plan to address this fiscal year's $1.35 billion shortfall includes a 15.6 percent budget cut for circuit court clerks' offices. Other constitutional officers - treasurers, commissioners of revenue, sheriffs and commonwealth's attorneys - are also facing cuts.

Virginia Beach Circuit Court Clerk Tina Sinnen said she will have to lay off nine staffers or make 58 employees take off up to three unpaid days a month to survive a $270,000 cut.

Portsmouth Circuit Court Clerk Cynthia Morrison said she might have to lay off four workers on her 24-person staff to cover a $100,000 shortfall. In Chesapeake, Circuit Court Clerk Faye Mitchell, who's facing a $184,000 cut, said she'll have to cut five or six positions.

Sinnen will ask Virginia Beach to make up the lost state money, but she's not optimistic.

"My gut feeling is they can't," she said. "They have their own issues."

Beach city officials, facing their own budget uncertainties, said they're still trying to gauge the impact of the state cuts and don't know if they can help make up the shortfall.

Overall, Virginia Beach expects to lose $2.75 million in state funding; Chesapeake and Norfolk are each facing $2 million cuts; Portsmouth stands to lose $1.3 million and Suffolk $400,000.

That includes 15 percent reductions for commissioners of the revenue and treasurers, a 5 percent reduction for commonwealth attorneys and a 4.7 percent decrease for sheriffs.

Norfolk Assistant City Manager Stanley A. Stein said the city is expecting to absorb some of the cuts, which the City Council will talk about at its retreat at the end of the month.

Circuit court clerks are hit hard because most employee salaries are paid by the state and all tasks are state mandated, Sinnen said.

Other departments have the option of cutting non-state mandated programs.

For example, Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said he might cut his optional Consumer Affairs program to make up an estimated $121,000 loss in state funding.

Beach Commissioner of the Revenue Phil Kellam, whose office is slated to lose $102,000, said he hopes the city will make up the difference.

If not, he said he'll lay off six to eight people or impose furloughs one day a week for himself and his 36 partially state-funded workers, which he said would "decimate operations."

Pilot writers Dave Forster, Jen McCaffery, Harry Minium and Mike Saewitz contribute to this report.

Aaron Applegate, (757) 222-5122, aaron.applegate@pilotonline.com