DAR-0006

A. Budgets.

The Board of Judges shall direct the preparation of one unified budget for all divisions of the Court, the Probation Department and the Office of Court Services to be funded from the county general fund upon approval of the County Council, and a separate budget for Title IV-D Court. The Title IV-D Court shall remain separate and apart from the unified budget. The Board of Judges shall further direct the preparation of additional budgets for programs funded by User Fee income upon approval by the County Council.

B. Annual Procedure.

Each year the Board of Judges shall establish a schedule of budget preparation, review and submission with the goal of providing for the effective functioning of the Court, as follows:

1.Each judge, CASA Director, and the chief probation officer shall submit written budget requests to the court administrator. These requests shall be specific and well justified in light of the past year’s expenditures and the future needs of the offices. Any request shall be submitted by May 15.

2.The Board of Judges shall meet to review the budget requests from the chief probation officer, the court administrator, and CASA Director to establish budget priorities, and to adopt the annual budgets for submission to the County Council.

3.The budget proposals as adopted by the Board of Judges shall be prepared by the court administrator and signed by the presiding judge for submission to the County Council.

C. Allocation of Resources.

The Board of Judges shall establish guidelines for allocation of individual line items in the yearly budget approved by the County Council.

D. Claims.

Claims shall be submitted to the Office of Court Services for approval by the court administrator and subsequent submission to the Auditor’s Office. The court administrator may approve all proper payroll claims and may approve all purchase, travel and training claims not exceeding maximum amounts set by the Board of Judges from time to time. Any claim exceeding these guidelines must be submitted to the Board of Judges for approval.

E. Transfers Within Budget Categories.

If the court administrator determines that a transfer is necessary within budget categories, the court administrator shall direct the Auditor’s Office to perfect said transfer.