A report from the Legislative Auditor’s office questioned the spend down of the West Virginia Supreme Court’s excess fund balance, which went from $29 million to $333,514 in four years.
Justin Robinson, manager with the Post Audit Division, presented the audit to lawmakers during Sunday’s Post Audits Subcommittee meeting.
According to the audit, the state Supreme Court had unused appropriated General Revenue Funds totaling $29 million in the 2012 fiscal year. This balance was reduced to $333,514 by the 2016 fiscal year. The audit said this was attributed to different reasons including renovations to the justice’s chambers and other court facilities.
“The Legislative Auditor is concerned with the Court’s accumulation of appropriated General Revenue Funds in the majority of the years reviewed, with particular regard to the fact that in five years, they had re-appropriated funds that went from $1.4 million in 2007 to $29 million in 2012,” the report said. “There is also concern over how these funds were subsequently spent down.”
The audit detailed the timeline:
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In 2012, judges, justices and magistrates received pay raises, which totaled about $6.1 million. This was absorbed using re-appropriated funds from 2011. The court also decreased its appropriation request by $2 million. It carried over $22.7 million into the 2013 fiscal year.
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In 2013, the court absorbed some of the previous year’s raises for judges, justices and magistrates from re-appropriated funds, totaling about $4.4 million. The audit said there also were unanticipated construction and furniture purchases for justices’ chambers, the business court, the City Center East server room, the Clerk’s office, and the justice’s conference room. The court also purchased technology, furniture and equipment for new family court spaces in several counties. The court re-appropriated about $15.25 million into the 2014 fiscal year.
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In 2014, the court returned about $4 million to the General Revenue Fund to help with the budget shortfall and did not seek appropriation for about $10 million in expenditures, the report said.
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In 2015, the court re-appropriated $333,514 to the 2016 fiscal year.
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In 2016, the court re-appropriated about $1.2 million to the 2017 fiscal year including $2 million returned to the General Revenue fund for annual Judicial Retirement contributions.
“How or why the court accumulated $29 million in excess General Revenue Funds in 2012 cannot fully be explained,” the audit said.
The Post Audit Division will continue to look into the increased spending and reduction of the excess funds.
Chief Justice Margaret Workman also addressed the subcommittee. She said some of the expenses involved computerizing court records. She said court computers also need to be updated often.
“It’s a very expensive proposition to take court records from 55 different counties and develop case management systems that are consistent,” Workman said.
She also said there was a lot of money spent on renovations. Some of these expenses, she said, included heating, cooling and electric work.
