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Lake Country Municipal Court reports $2 million collected, says no municipal subsidy needed
Summary
Judge Kaye told Village of Hartland trustees the joint municipal court processed about 15,000 citations in the past year, kept roughly $381,000 to fund operations, and has not asked member municipalities for contributions in decades.
Judge Kaye, presiding judge of the Lake Country Municipal Court, updated Village of Hartland trustees on the court’s annual operations during the meeting.
Kaye said the court, which serves multiple municipalities, processed about 15,000 citations this year and collected roughly $2,000,000 in total fines and fees. Of that total, the court retained about $381,000 to cover its budget — salaries for the judge and clerks, rent, insurance, bailiffs and other operating costs — and has not requested municipal contributions in about 25 years.
The judge described the court as the largest joint municipal court in the state, serving roughly 20 municipalities after recent municipal reorganizations. Court sessions are held Friday mornings, and Kaye said the court has the clerks and bailiffs necessary to process high-volume dockets quickly. He noted the court maintains a small surplus — typically placed in a reserve fund for equipment or unexpected interruptions such as prolonged COVID-related closures.
Kaye laid out how fines are split: about 40% of a typical fine returns to the issuing municipality, roughly 25% goes to the state, about 8% to the jail, and the remaining share is retained by the court for operations. He also described collections work, including participation in the State Department of Collections (SDC), which he said improved recovery of out-of-jurisdiction fines.
Trustees asked procedural questions about court staffing and how fine revenue is remitted to municipalities. Kaye replied that the lead clerk compiles monthly distributions and that municipal representatives receive checks during operations meetings.
Kaye also described staff turnover and recent hires in the clerk’s office, the bailiff staffing arrangement using two sheriff’s deputies for Friday dockets, and a monthly operations committee that reviews budget and operations.
The presentation concluded with trustees thanking Kaye for the annual update and no action required by the board.
