The San Diego Superior Court will reduce its business hours starting Dec. 1 as a result of reduced funding, according to a press release just put out by the court. The court will open for one hour less a day, closing at 3:30 p.m. each day instead of 4:30 p.m.
The press release reads:
The current state budget has resulted in reduced funding for many state services, agencies and even the judicial branch. In response to this budget crisis, the San Diego Superior Court has worked diligently over the past year to meet the needs of court users and litigants while reducing expenses to stay in line with our authorized level of funding.
The court has also responded to its reduced budget by reducing the number of employees by not replacing employees who retire or have left the court workforce.
The press release quotes Michael Roddy, executive officer of the San Diego Superior Court.
With fewer employees to handle the work of the court, and backlogs growing in many areas within the clerks’ offices, the court must take steps to balance the time it is open to the public with its need to provide the clerical time needed for necessary document processing that must occur to move cases through the court system in a timely manner. Given the fiscal reality facing the court, we must reluctantly reduce our public service hours by one hour a day.
The press release points out that despite the reduction in office hours, the court now provides a number of new services online through its website www.sdcourt.ca.gov.
Services available online include paying a traffic ticket, signing up for traffic school, paying court-ordered fines or fees, looking up jury service information and quick links to child support, DMV, and the sheriff’s warrant and restraining order indexes.