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Judge Jason Aslinger
cuts 6.6% from budget
Darke County Probate/Juvenile Judge Jason Aslinger recently submitted
the Court’s preliminary 2012 budget to the Darke County Commissioners.
The proposed budget cuts expenditures from $2,075,608 to $1,938,767, a
reduction of $133,841 (or 6.6%) from 2011 to 2012. The Commissioners
approved the preliminary budget.
One significant cut was achieved by not replacing a probation officer
who resigned and moved to another community. The Court also changed its
contract with the West Central Detention Facility to eliminate excess
services which were not being fully used. Other reductions occurred as
a result of changes with personnel and benefits.
Judge Aslinger commented that the goal was to find the best and most
efficient use of the taxpayers’ dollars while maintaining the
effectiveness of the Court.
The Probate/Juvenile Court receives its funding from the county and the
Department of Youth Services (DYS). A portion of the budget cuts were
imposed as the DYS grant was significantly reduced from the last fiscal
year. “We were able to deal with the loss in the DYS grant and still
make significant reductions in the county’s portion of the budget as
well,” Judge Aslinger said. “We will continue to seek areas where
efficiencies can be found.”
The Court’s budget funds operations of the Probate Court, the Juvenile
Court, the Juvenile Probation Department, and the Michael’s Resource
Treatment Center (a residential facility with capacity to house up to
ten teenage boys). Twenty-four employees are currently paid through the
Probate/Juvenile Court budget.
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