East County Courthouse May Keep Security Officers After All

Multnomah County may not cut two facility security officer positions at the East County Courthouse, a reduction proposed to address a budget shortfall that would have led the court to close three days each week.

"We are working with our partners to take a closer look at the proposed changes, the court utilization data and the impact on the community," says county spokeswoman Jessica Morkert-Shibley. "There will be security at the building."

WW reported last week that the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office planned to eliminate the deputies who serve as security at the Gresham courthouse's doors. In response, the court planned to limit services at the courthouse and only open it to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting July 22.

The county decided to reconsider the cuts after WW wrote about the plan.

Cutting the two security positions would have saved MCSO $212,572 that the agency will have to find elsewhere in its budget. The sheriff's office planned to cut more than $1 million in its budget this year by eliminating 8.5 full time positions.

The Multnomah County Circuit Court has not finalized its plans for the East County Courthouse.

"We have no indication of the length of this stay in the reduction of security services at the East County Courthouse," says court spokeswoman Rachel McCarthy. "Until we have more information, we are unable to comment further."