Want a quick divorce? Don't go to Umatilla County
UMATILLA COUNTY -- For some courts, there's not enough staff to move the divorce process along.
"I'm at the position where I have to go through a divorce case and it's been real rough."
Garth Sayles is caught in a web of bureaucracy and bad relationships. For a year he's desperately tried to finalize a nasty divorce, but Oregon's money problems mean any resolution is still a long way off.
"I can't even explain how frustrating it's been," Sayles tells Action News. "It hasn't been going well. A lot of confrontations have happened."
Sayles' ordeal can be tied to state budget cuts. When Oregon's budget went south, courts in Umatilla County no longer had enough money to fill empty positions. As a result, cases piled up. It now takes double the time to get a divorce finalized, going from six months to a year.
"It doubles the frustration, it doubles the financial output, it really drains an individual and creates a lot of stress"
It really is a domino effect of the worst kind, because when folks retire from the court in Umatilla County, they not only transfer their caseload to somebody else, but the court loses years of valuable experience that simply can't be replaced.
It means double the caseload and fewer folks to help Sayles get through the process.
The only positive is that no more cuts are expected in the immediate future, but it's little consolation for folks like Sayles who are already slogging through the red tape.
Besides divorce cases, cutbacks have also affected the time it takes to resolve child custody cases as well as protection order violations.
"I'm at the position where I have to go through a divorce case and it's been real rough."
Garth Sayles is caught in a web of bureaucracy and bad relationships. For a year he's desperately tried to finalize a nasty divorce, but Oregon's money problems mean any resolution is still a long way off.
"I can't even explain how frustrating it's been," Sayles tells Action News. "It hasn't been going well. A lot of confrontations have happened."
Sayles' ordeal can be tied to state budget cuts. When Oregon's budget went south, courts in Umatilla County no longer had enough money to fill empty positions. As a result, cases piled up. It now takes double the time to get a divorce finalized, going from six months to a year.
"It doubles the frustration, it doubles the financial output, it really drains an individual and creates a lot of stress"
It really is a domino effect of the worst kind, because when folks retire from the court in Umatilla County, they not only transfer their caseload to somebody else, but the court loses years of valuable experience that simply can't be replaced.
It means double the caseload and fewer folks to help Sayles get through the process.
The only positive is that no more cuts are expected in the immediate future, but it's little consolation for folks like Sayles who are already slogging through the red tape.
Besides divorce cases, cutbacks have also affected the time it takes to resolve child custody cases as well as protection order violations.
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