Gallatin County commissioners on Day 2 of their budget-setting meeting approved an annual license to import sheriff citations directly into the court case management system but deferred a separate $41,000 capital request for courtroom audio and sidebar equipment.

The county’s presiding Justice of the Peace, Judge West, and Miranda (Clerk of the Justice Court) told commissioners that the new, larger courtroom built this year lacks adequate microphones and recording channels to make a reliable record for jury selection and sidebars. Judge West said the problem is most acute during voir dire, when questioning of about 30 prospective jurors over roughly two hours must be captured in the record: “We don’t have any recording equipment out there. There’s no microphones. There’s no, boom mics. There’s no anything out there that is able to, record what is being said.”

Judge West outlined three capital requests: courtroom microphones and lapel mics (quote line item $22,399.96), sidebar recording capability (quote line item $8,385), and additional monitors for clerk/judge stations (about $10,000) to let staff display evidence and control audio more efficiently. Miranda said the court had salvaged equipment from the old courtrooms, which reduced the vendor estimate from earlier quotes.

Miranda and Judge West also sought an ongoing contract for “For the Record” (FTR) software to manage and maintain recordings. They said FTR is the recording platform; related hardware (AVI microphones and consoles) is distinct from the FTR service. Miranda said the FTR annual support quote the court had received was $1,600.

Separately, the court requested a citation‑import bridge so sheriff and other agencies that use the Zirker e‑citation format can transfer tickets directly into the court system rather than having clerks reenter them by hand. Miranda said the license will save staff time and reduce data‑entry errors; the quote presented was $3,000 per year. County Attorney Audrey Cromwell told commissioners she supported the import API, saying the cost is a stable bridge between two existing systems: “it’s just bridging the gap between two softwares, like Zirker and FullCourt … that cost is stable throughout the years.” Cromwell added the bridge would help the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Bozeman Police Department, Belgrade, West Yellowstone and MSU, which use similar citation systems.

Commissioner discussion focused on how to fund the requests. Several commissioners suggested pausing the microphone/monitor/sidebar capital purchases and asking the county’s new facilities team to review the courtroom needs and the project contingency for the justice‑center construction before spending general‑fund cash. One commissioner suggested the courtroom hardware could be paid from project contingency or from FF&E budget items that were value‑engineered out of the original facility project. Commissioners voted to approve the citation‑import software as an ongoing line item and to defer the roughly $41,000 capital request (microphones, sidebar channel and monitors) for further review and potential funding from project contingency or the bond project’s FF&E contingency.

Actions taken: commissioners approved the citation‑import license (ongoing $3,000/year) and deferred the courtroom AV capital package for further review, with staff directed to seek whether the items should come from project contingency or be reintroduced at the August budget discussion.

The court and clerk said they will continue to use salvaged equipment from the prior courtrooms to reduce costs and will return with more detailed contingency or procurement plans if commissioners request it. The citation import will be an ongoing cost and will require annual appropriation.

A vote to approve the $3,000 annual citation‑import license passed with commissioners voting aye; no roll‑call of individual commissioner names was recorded on the transcript.

Next steps: procurement of the citation import software will proceed under the approved ongoing appropriation; the courtroom audio/monitor/sidebar request will be revisited after facilities reviews and contingency accounting and may return to the commission in August for final funding direction.