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INNER STRENGTHCourt Administrators

Responding to the Budget Crisis

NACM Annual MeetingJuly 14, 2011

Presented byNoreen L. Sharp, O.P., J.D.

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INTRODUCTION: MISSIONPART ONE: PARALYSISPART TWO: LEADERSHIPPART THREE: TRANSFORMATION

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Introduction: MISSION

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MISSION: JUSTICE FOR ALL

AccessFairness

IndependenceTimeliness

Peaceful Resolution of ProblemsOversee Constitutional Rights

Ultimate Arbiter of Disagreements

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Part One: PARALYSIS

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Well,

you have the public not wanting any new spending,

you have the Republicans not wanting any new taxes,

you have the Democrats not wanting any new spending cuts,

you have the markets not wanting any new borrowing, and

you have the economists wanting all of the above.

And that leads to paralysis.

Michael Bloomberg

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REAL – IZING

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A LOOK AT NATIONAL BUDGET ISSUES

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A LOOK AT COURT BUDGET ISSUES

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• Lower morale• Hesitancy of upper management to retire• Increased caseloads as the economy worsens • Reduced budgets for specialized court services• Delay of case processing • What Else??

How Has the Recession Impacted Court Services From Court Viewpoint?

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Almost 90% of court budgets go to salary and benefits, so there are few places to find savings, and results include…• Delays: child support, divorces• More: evictions, small claims, unpaid debts• More: bankruptcy, foreclosures• Fees: Cannot pay fees, so contempt of court• Jurors: more financial excuses

How Have Court Reductions Impacted the Public From the Public Viewpoint?

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SO WHERE ARE WE?

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What About the Future?

Our economy will never be the same:

• In past recessions the worst budget years were two years AFTER the recession ended

• This recession is so deep due to high unemployment and subsequent demands for government services that the recovery may not rebound until the next decade. We are living in “The Lost Decade” – the time it will take to recover from this deep, long recession

Stateline.orgNational Governors’ Association 2009

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Part Two: LEADERSHIP

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Faith is taking the first stepWhen you cannot see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King

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• From isolation to networking• From bottom line to the common good• From competition to collaboration• From adjudication to justice• From “coming to us” to “going to them”• From status quo to innovation• From boxes to circles• From scarcity to abundance

Leland Kaiser

Leadership Paradigms

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Mission: Purpose and Life of the OrganizationStrategies: Operations focused on the long haul

Strategy describes a broad perspective on how resources are to be used to achieve some goal.• The common view of “strategy” and its counterpoint

“tactics”, is that strategy is about the long-term, and tactics are about the short-term

• Assumes that the mission is formed before strategy and tactics are developed after strategy

What are Tactics? What are Strategies?

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Mission: Purpose and Life of the Organization

Strategies: Operations focused on the long haul

Tactics: Immediate Operational Issues

Tactics are now-orientated. The focus is on present performance gaps and how to overcome them to get to strategies. This assumes that the strategy was formed before tactics were employed.

What are Tactics? What are Strategies?

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Tactical Budget Cutbacks

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• Freezing hiring• Reducing staff• Restricting out of state travel• Reducing training • Laying off staff• Instituting furloughs and changes in work hours• Deferring pay raises• Reductions in workforce

What Are Some Tactical Budget Cutbacks Courts Made -- Staff

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• Cutting funding to problem solving courts• Reducing court services such as hours and days of

court operations• Increasing case backlogs in all departments• Delaying technology development• Stopping new program development

Tactical Budget Approaches -- Focusing on the Organization

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• What steps are least likely to have an adverse effect on services?

• What “temporary” cuts are restored and which are never regained?

• How can reductions be spread out evenly to avoid crippling effect on some services?

• What personnel steps are likely to have the least opposition?

• What is the effect of cutting out or severely rationing some services?

Robert W. Tobin, “Learning from Recession Experience”, © NCSC, 2003

Watch Out When Employing Tactics

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STRATEGIES –Looking at Things Differently

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Strategies: Operations focused on the long haulEnlivening Mission

Strategy describes a broad perspective on how resources are to be used to achieve some goal.• The common view of “strategy” and its counterpoint “tactics”,

is that strategy is about the long-term, and tactics are about the short-term

• Assumes that the mission is formed before strategy and tactics are developed after strategy

Strategies

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Minnesota Chief Justice Lotie Gildea , October 14, 2010

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Strategies

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• Enhance revenue • Streamline court case flow management systems,

cross train staff, etc.• Use technology • Centralize court operations when feasible• Look for grants

More Strategies for Courts

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• Centralize collections, payments, filing, etc.• Consolidate employee duties to keep traditional

court hours of operation• Analyze work flow – no job exempt • Reform group thinking

More Strategies

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Part Three: TRANSFORMATION

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VEJA DOO

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TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

• Is tolerant and open-minded• Uses conflict as a creative instrument• Opens doors for others• Sees the future of the organization• Has a reverse perspective on events• Attracts talented people to the organization• Serves with humility

Leland Kaiser

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WHAT COURTS NEED TO DO

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INNOVATIONS:Some Ways For Courts To Fix Things

• Seize the opportunity to make change• Empower staff• Re-examine everything• Move from depressed to creative• Get people thinking

“Remaining Innovative in Tough Economic Times”, Judge Robert Moss et. al, Orange County California,

September 2009

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INNOVATIONSBeyond Budget Strategies

Minnesota Judicial CouncilAccess and Service Delivery Committee

July 17, 2008• “E-everything”• Re-engineer work flow• Legislative and court policy reform• Structure governance issues

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• Develop a mission-based and stewardship-focused budget

theme

• Develop an attitude of service and stewardship

• Commit and be faithful to transparency as to court

operations and performance

• Commit to leadership and risk

• Be creative and bold in examining options

• Be flexible

(1) ASPIRATIONS – TRUST YOURSELF AND OTHERS

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• Develop a budget strategy• Understand immediate and long-term consequences

of the budget• Seek more flexible use of funds and consider carry-

over unspent appropriations• Establish measurement of costs, workloads, and

results. Consider the NCSC CourTools• Plan for the future now

(2) REALITIES – KNOW THE PATH YOU WALK

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NCSC CourTools

1. Access and Fairness2. Case Clearance Rates3. Time to Disposition4. Age of Active Pending Caseload5. Trial Date Certainty6. Reliability and Integrity of Case Files7. Collection of Monetary Penalties8. Effective Use of Jurors9. Employee Satisfaction10. Cost Per Case

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• Preserve court mission and core functions – ensure resources for mandated cases and functions

• Act and be professional to gain trust• Play an active role in the budget process• Be creative and flexible during the budget process• Collaborate with other courts to share successes,

ideas

(3) COMPETENCY – PREPARE FOR THE JOURNEY

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• Show funding agencies how cutbacks affect delivery of judicial services

• Develop credibility with other branches and agencies• Collaborate with other agencies that have competing

budget interests• Team up with other agencies that share mission• Trade on strengths, not weaknesses• Invite everyone to the table, and go to everyone’s

table

(4) PARTNERING – NEVER WALK ALONE

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• Develop strong court/community relationships and

leverage community resources

• Consider focus groups to see how the community sees

the court.

• Encourage over-achievement

• Partner with everybody!

(5) COMMUNITY – REMEMBER THE GOOD OF THE WHOLE

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Use A Recession As A Change Agent

• Change in Interbranch Relationships• Develop relationships with budget agency staff and

promote inter-branch cooperation• Fundamental and restructuring of organizational

Changes• Changing work processes• Using facilities and information technology as

catalysts2003 NCSC, Robert Tobin, Learning from Recession Experience

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Advice from Socrates to court managers:

Reflect deeplyListen attentively

Speak courageouslyAct compassionately

This is inner strength

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Future Trends in State Courts 2009• “Court Funding: Lessons from the Last Recession” Daniel

Hall, NCSC, April 12, 2008• “Weathering the Economic Storm – The Challenges of

Delivering Court Services”, Daniel Hall, NCSC, October 28, 2009

• “Financing the Third Branch in Lean Times - Placing the Present Fiscal Crisis in Perspective” BJA Criminal Courts Technical Assistance Project, March 2010

• “Learning From Experience”, Robert Tobin, NCSC, 2003• Leland Kaiser, Estes Park