Some Layoffs And Closures Averted In San Francisco Courts

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - Thanks to some borrowed money, 11 San Francisco court rooms slated for closure will remain open and fewer jobs will be cut from the county court system in the next few months.

San Francisco Superior Court will borrow $2.5 million over five years from the Judicial Council, the statewide body that oversees all California courts.

"That's a hundred jobs saved," said Adrian Williams, a training technician for the court. She and her colleagues applauded jubilantly as the loan was approved Friday.

KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:

Actually preserved were 102 jobs, since the court had planned to lay off 177 staffers. Instead state officials said just 75 pink slips would go out as soon as next week.

And 14 courts will still close despite the zero-interest loan, which comes from a fund set aside by the state for the urgent needs of local courts.

San Francisco Superior Court had been facing a $1 million deficit that would have meant it could not meet its payroll or pay vendors.

This move keeps the San Francisco court system in the black for the short term, but the picture remains bleak for California courts everywhere.

"As my presiding judge has made clear, San Francisco may have been the first court to fall. We certainly will not be the last court," said Michael Yuen, court executive officer of San Francisco Superior Court.

Yuen estimates it will take $300 million of permanent funding next year to keep courts all over California open and fully staffed.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)