The audited financial statements give the taxpayer a limited view of the Clerk of Court’s financial operations. However, all the numbers have been audited and, thus, are indisputable.
What they show is that Pam Childers is not very good at budgeting. She has under-budgeted her revenue and expenses, causing the taxpayers to budget over $2.8 million more than she needed to run her office in FY 2024 and FY 2025.
In FY 2024, she budgeted $9.7 million for her revenue, $14.6 million for her expenditures and projected a $4.9 million deficit. The auditors report her actual deficit was only $3.7 million – a $1.1 million difference.
In FY 2025, she budgeted $10.3 million for her revenue, $15.9 million for her expenditures and projected a $5.5 million deficit. The auditors report her actual deficit was only $3.9 million – a $1.7 million difference.
| REVENUES FY 2024 | Budget | Actual | |
| Intergovernmental | 440,146 | 1,429,395 | 989,249 |
| Charges for services | 6,929,600 | 6,596,398 | (333,202) |
| Judgments, fines and forfeitures | 1,730,000 | 1,652,150 | (77,850) |
| Investment income | 375,100 | 307,716 | (67,384) |
| Miscellaneous revenue | 271,074 | 255,430 | (15,644) |
| Total revenues | 9,745,920 | 10,241,089 | 495,169 |
| EXPENDITURES FY 2024 | Budget | Actual | |
| General government: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 5,548,375 | 4,756,376 | (791,999) |
| Operating expenditures | 1,216,204 | 1,037,122 | (179,082) |
| Capital Outlay | – | – | – |
| Court related: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 7,047,699 | 5,624,948 | (1,422,751) |
| Operating expenditures | 786,471 | 607,875 | (178,596) |
| Capital Outlay | 10,000 | – | (10,000) |
| Payments to State | – | 1,937,990 | 1,937,990 |
| Total expenditures | 14,608,749 | 13,964,311 | (644,438) |
| Net | (4,862,829) | (3,723,222) | 1,139,607 |
| REVENUES FY 2025 | Budget | Actual | |
| Intergovernmental | 1,725,685 | 1,914,403 | 188,718 |
| Charges for services | 6,407,550 | 7,181,261 | 773,711 |
| Judgments, fines and forfeitures | 1,713,498 | 1,789,476 | 75,978 |
| Investment income | 257,767 | 321,335 | 63,568 |
| Miscellaneous revenue | 186,007 | 267,640 | 81,633 |
| Total revenues | 10,290,507 | 11,474,115 | 1,183,608 |
| EXPENDITURES FY 2025 | Budget | Actual | |
| General government: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 5,738,250 | 5,260,466 | (477,784) |
| Operating expenditures | 1,237,465 | 748,602 | (488,863) |
| Capital Outlay | 514,180 | 7,103 | (507,077) |
| Court related: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 7,748,347 | 6,442,607 | (1,305,740) |
| Operating expenditures | 605,260 | 1,452,861 | 847,601 |
| Capital Outlay | 10,000 | 73,314 | 63,314 |
| Payments to State | – | 1,341,072 | 1,341,072 |
| Total expenditures | 15,853,502 | 15,326,025 | (527,477) |
| Net | (5,562,995) | (3,851,910) | 1,711,085 |
| Two-Year Budget vs. Actual | (10,425,824) | (7,575,132) | 2,850,692 |
The pattern existed in FY 2022 and FY 2023. She routinely over budgets for salaries and never budgets for payments to the state. She misses on her intergovernmental and charges for services on the revenue side.
| REVENUES FY 2022 | Budget | Actual | |
| Intergovernmental | 342,906 | 454,116 | 111,210 |
| Charges for services | 6,425,734 | 7,000,717 | 574,983 |
| Judgments, fines and forfeitures | 1,705,000 | 1,627,316 | (77,684) |
| Investment income | 390,100 | 465,006 | 74,906 |
| Miscellaneous revenue | 270,447 | 264,458 | (5,989) |
| Total revenues | 9,134,187 | 9,811,613 | 677,426 |
| REVENUES FY 2023 | Budget | Actual | |
| Intergovernmental | 302,750 | 1,030,283 | 727,533 |
| Charges for services | 6,494,800 | 6,627,348 | 132,548 |
| Judgments, fines and forfeitures | 1,860,000 | 1,542,763 | (317,237) |
| Investment income | 475,100 | 338,776 | (136,324) |
| Miscellaneous revenue | 358,330 | 248,998 | (109,332) |
| Total revenues | 9,490,980 | 9,788,168 | 297,188 |
| EXPENDITURES FY 2022 | Budget | Actual | |
| General government: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 4,468,300 | 4,001,304 | (466,996) |
| Operating expenditures | 805,649 | 1,340,894 | 535,245 |
| Court related: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 6,872,963 | 5,620,174 | (1,252,789) |
| Operating expenditures | 516,000 | 544,393 | 28,393 |
| Payments to State | – | 1,060,666 | 1,060,666 |
| Total expenditures | 12,662,912 | 12,567,431 | (95,481) |
| EXPENDITURES FY 2023 | Budget | Actual | |
| General government: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 5,150,100 | 4,425,547 | (724,553) |
| Operating expenditures | 861,251 | 1,137,541 | 276,290 |
| Capital Outlay | 10,000 | 8,130 | (1,870) |
| Court related: | |||
| Salaries and benefits | 6,963,280 | 5,525,642 | (1,437,638) |
| Operating expenditures | 516,050 | 589,687 | 73,637 |
| Payments to State | – | 1,516,652 | 1,516,652 |
| Total expenditures | 13,500,681 | 13,203,199 | (297,482) |
