Philadelphia Family Court Judge says he needs toilet paper money

The chief judge of Philadelphia Family Court says he needs more money just to cover necessities when court moves to a new building, slated to open later this year. 

Judge Kevin Dougherty says moving to the new family court building will mean extra expenses that normally would be part of even the most basic budget. 

“If we can at least move to have a clean facility have a clean bathroom. Let’s get down to basics have some toilet paper, some soap in the bathroom so they can wash their hands. Provide dignity to a family in disarray,” Dougherty said. “Is that too much to ask?”

Dougherty says moving from rented quarters to new city owned building means he won’t have the custodians that come with a rental property and without extra budget he might have to make program cuts to hire people to do the cleanup work.

“I find it hard to fathom that I might have to withdraw a program or divert employees so that I can maintain a quality of life that is common-sensical to each and every one of us.”

Dougherty’s requesting a total of $1.1 million for all the new expenses involved in the move, including additional security.

Members of council are not ready to commit to the additional funds at this point.