Florida's Broward County Clerk of Courts Howard Forman has laid off 14 employees and announced Friday he plans to cut at least 34 more in response to a mandated state budget cut, bringing the total number of South Florida clerk employees who will be out of work to at least 259.

Harvey Ruvin, the clerk in Miami-Dade County, announced Thursday he will lay off 145 employees and eliminate another 83 vacant positions. Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller Sharon Bock announced she will lose 66 employees through voluntary departures and layoffs.

The cutbacks come as South Florida court clerks wrestle with how to deal with an 18 percent budget cut starting July 1 to meet a legislative cutback of $46 million statewide. The funding loss is part of a bill that shifts budget control from the clerks to the state Legislature.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist hasn't signed the bill yet. Court clerks around the state have lobbied heavily for the governor to veto the bill.

Forman said his layoffs will occur before the end of the month. However, he said he is unsure how much each department will be affected as he reduces his budget from $44 million to $39 million. Two employees volunteered to leave. The first 14 to depart their jobs worked at a north satellite courthouse to create document imaging of old court files.

Forman also will leave 81 positions vacant that opened through attrition in the past few months. He started the last fiscal year with nearly 950 employees.

"It's noticeable," Forman said. "There will be longer lines. There won't be as many windows open. There may be a backup in some of the offices because we don't have the employees necessary to get the work done in a timely manner."

Forman said the crush of foreclosure cases is taking a toll on his office's resources. He already has shifted 10 employees from traffic and misdemeanors to the civil section to help deal with the backlog.