Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.
The Anne Arundel County Council met on May 13, 2026, to continue department budget presentations for Fiscal Year 2027. Presentations were heard from the Circuit Court, Department of Social Services, Orphan's Court, Board of License Commissioners, Arundel Community Development Services, Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation, Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation, and the Partnership for Children, Youth and Families. Councilmembers asked questions on security, staffing, caseloads, and program impacts. No formal votes were taken; the meeting recessed until a 7:00 p.m. public hearing.
Circuit Court
Department of Social Services
Orphan's Court
Board of License Commissioners (Liquor Board)
Arundel Community Development Services (ACDS)
Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation
Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC)
Partnership for Children, Youth and Families
The May thirteenth, twenty twenty six meeting of the Anne Random County Council is called to order. Please ensure all electronic devices are in silent mode. Today we will continue with department budget presentations, and we will begin our presentations with the circuit court. Good afternoon. I'm Kyle Madden from the budget office. You can find the circuit court's budget on page 320 of the budget book. And I will turn it over to Circuit Court to talk about their budget. All right, good afternoon. Thank you for this opportunity to speak on behalf of the Circuit Court for Anna Rundel County. I'm Judge Donna Schaefer, administrative judge for the court. With me are Doug Hofstedt, our court administrator, and Kim Klein, our director of court operations. We are now in our 13th year as an electronic courthouse utilizing the Maryland Judiciary's electronic case management system, MDEC, which has been implemented in all Maryland courts now. What was once a new system has been used in Anamondo County longer than any of our current judges have been on the bench. The judiciary recently rolled out a major update to the system, and we are pleased to report that it went smoothly. Each year, all courts in Maryland undergo an assessment of how long it takes each court to process cases in all case types. The case time standard for civil non-family law cases is that they be resolved within 18 months. In the latest assessment. The case time standard for family law cases is to resolve these cases within one year. According to the latest assessment, our court achieved this goal 92.7% of the time. For criminal cases, the case time standard is to conclude them within 180 days. The case time standard for juvenile cases is to have them resolved within 90 days. Last year, our court achieved this 98.2% of the time. Court and judicial security have been at the top of our priority list. The court has conducted two security assessments, one by the Maryland Judiciary, and the second by the Homeland Security Branch of the Ana Rondo County Police Department. Combined, those assessments yielded more than 60 recommended items for security enhancement, some small and some large. We have already addressed several items on the list and will continue to do so. Along these same lines, we have worked to create a much improved judicial threat reporting protocol. Our judges and staff have worked closely with the Sheriff's Office, the Ana Rundle County Police, the Maryland State Police, the Annapolis City Police to establish a new system for reporting threats. The new system immediately emails all law enforcement and court leadership when a threat is reported and triggers an immediate threat assessment. We have worked closely with the budget office to submit a conservative budget request for fiscal year 2027 within the confines of the budget projection. Our overall budget submission includes multiple grant business units for which we receive state funding for programs such as our drug court, family services, and alternative dispute resolution programs. Through judiciary funding, our court employs two full-time Spanish interpreters and enlists contract interpreters for all other languages. At this point, we're happy to answer any questions that you may have. Mr. Folkey. Thanks, Madam Chair. My cases are in the 7-whatever percent that don't get done in the case time standard. So I know that. Not that it's your fault. So I was gonna say that may reflect on you, Mr.