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District court budgets track above targets for fines and services; probation revenues below target, probation to begin phased move in November
Summary
Finance staff told commissioners district court revenues from intergovernmental reimbursements and fines were ahead of targets while probation services trailed slightly; staff expect a November phased move of probation operations and noted interpreter reimbursement is paid quarterly and capped by state allocations.
Cowlitz County finance staff reviewed budget-to-date figures for district court and probation services, saying district court revenues for intergovernmental reimbursements and fines have exceeded expectations while probation-services revenue is slightly below target.
Susie, the county finance manager, told commissioners district court intergovernmental revenue was budgeted at just under $111,000 and had brought in about $93,000; fines and penalties were budgeted at $585,000 with roughly $542,000 received so far. She said about $273,000 of district-court year-to-date revenue represented payments from cities for their portion of district-court costs.
On personnel and workload, district court has 19 full-time-equivalent positions with 0.67 FTE vacant; staff anticipate amending the budget down by roughly $200,000 for Judge Pro Tem costs tied to a vacancy that began in August 2025. Susie said goods-and-services budgets have some downward amendments coming after the county learned an annual software cost will be about $15,000 versus a previously budgeted $40,000.
Probation services reported goods-and-services budget of about $268,000 with roughly $167,000 recorded year-to-date and personnel budgets of about $580,000 with about $366,000 expended; probation has 5.5 FTE. Susie said fines and penalties for probation had a modest budget and have exceeded it, reflecting restitution charges.
Interpreter services: Susie explained the county submits quarterly data to the state for interpreter reimbursements; the state reimburses half of what the county pays per case up to a state-imposed cap that can change during the year. She said the county’s available cap had been amended upward in the past when other courts failed to submit claims, and that the county passes through city shares based on the cases that belong to those cities.
Operations note: Commissioners asked about moving probation offices; staff said probation’s move will begin in November and will be phased, starting small, with the court’s move expected later in the schedule.
Ending: Commissioners received the updates; staff said they will return any required budget amendments to reflect the Judge Pro Tem vacancy and the corrected software annual cost.
