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Cowlitz County proposes three-year phase-in of higher district court billing rates; cities press for detailed cost breakdown
Summary
County finance staff proposed phasing in higher district court billing rates over three years to move the fees to a full cost-allocation basis. City officials from Castle Rock, Woodland, Longview, Kelso and others urged more granular budget detail and formation of a joint committee to review cost drivers.
Cowlitz County finance staff told the Board of Commissioners on Tuesday that the county plans to phase in higher district court billing rates over three years to reach full cost recovery, prompting city leaders to request more detailed cost breakdowns and a municipal–county working group.
The county’s finance director, Kathy Funk Baxter, said the county’s current billing methodology is not tied to actual, recent operating costs and that a cost-allocation update using 2024 financials would better reflect the true cost per case. “What I want what I'm proposing is we would always base it upon our total cost and the number of cases,” Baxter said.
The proposed change would raise the infraction and criminal per-case rates in two steps before reaching what the county described as the full-cost level. Baxter presented historical rates (the infraction rate cited as $36.39 and the criminal rate cited as…
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