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Retired commissioner urges Jefferson County to consider raising juror pay
Summary
At the March 10 meeting a retired commissioner asked the board to consider increasing juror daily pay, citing $15 per day currently and comparisons to Pierce County’s proposed $100 a day.
Retired Commissioner John Austin urged the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners on March 10 to revisit the county’s juror pay, saying current compensation is inadequate and that larger counties are increasing their rates.
Austin, who identified himself as a retired county commissioner, said he was scheduled for jury duty the morning of the meeting and would have been paid $15 for the day. “I was going to be earning the princely sum of $15 a day,” Austin said, noting that the payment is “considerably less than I would get if I were substitute teach.”
Austin said his son, a public defender in Pierce County, told him Pierce County plans to start paying jurors $100 per day. “He noticed or told me that, in Pierce County, they're going to start, paying a hundred dollars a day for their jurors. And I thought, well, maybe we could go for half that. We're a smaller county,” Austin said.
Why it matters: Austin framed the change as a civic and fairness issue, saying jury service is a duty but that the low pay creates financial strain for some residents. He asked the board to consider raising juror compensation so it is not punitive to participants.
The comment was part of the public-comment period; commissioners did not formalize a plan or vote on the issue during the meeting. No staff presentation or fiscal analysis of current juror compensation was provided at the session.
