Iowans who have a debt to society may find they can’t pay it today. The first of ten mandatory furlough days for court workers is finally here. Courts will be closed today, so Iowans won’t be able to pay traffic fines, criminal fees or child support. You can’t file a small-claims lawsuit either, with employees on unpaid leave and clerk-of-court offices locked. The budget for Iowa’s judicial branch is the same as it was the year before though court officials say the cost of operating the system has grown by five-Million dollars. So the next of ten furlough days will come on September 17 and the clerks’ offices will close around the middle of the month eight more times after that to cut costs.
