Funding of Constitutional Officers - Virginia Joint Legislative Audit ...

are divided evenly between the State and the local governments. In fiscal year 1988,
the State received $2.7 million in fees from clerks of court, $1.1 million in fees from
sheriffs, and $105,483 in fees from Commonwealth's attorneys.
To ensure that the disposition offees is equitable, the assignments ofresponsibility
for service costs developed for this study can also be used as the criteria for
distributing fees. In this way, State and local governments would receive fees in
proportion to their statewide responsibilities for the costs of a given office.
This kind ofredistribution offees for clerks ofcourt would require a modification
in the method for appropriating State funds to the clerks. By providing a full
appropriation for State responsibility costs instead ofcosts not met by fees, the funding
and distribution of fees for clerks can be made consistent with the practice for other
constitutional officers.
Recommendation (7). The General Assembly may wish to consider
distribution of fees collected by constitutional officers on the basis of the
statewide responsibility ofthe State and local governments for service costs.
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