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Howard County judge wins $8,500 state grant to buy courthouse security and tech items
Summary
Judge Blake Dahl told commissioners the Indiana Supreme Court awarded an $8,500 Court Improvement Grant for security, courtroom microphones, electronic jury instructions and a mailing-stuffing machine; the board approved the reimbursement grant.
Judge Blake Dahl told the Howard County Board of Commissioners the Indiana Supreme Court awarded the county an $8,500 Court Improvement Grant to improve courtroom security, technology and access-to-justice services.
Dahl said the grant will pay for items the court identified as urgent, including an additional stun cuff, two wireless microphones compatible with the court’s recording system, electronic copies of jury instructions and a machine to fold and address jury summonses. “They awarded you $8,500,” he told the commissioners after describing the items and the reimbursement process.
The grant is a reimbursement award: county departments must pay invoices up front and submit receipts to the Indiana Supreme Court for reimbursement, Dahl said. He told the commissioners he had already secured council approval for the county’s part of the process and asked the board of commissioners to give their approval as well.
Commissioners moved, seconded and approved the grant. The transcript records the approval with the board’s verbal “Aye”; individual roll-call votes were not recorded in the meeting transcript.
Dahl told commissioners he plans to coordinate earlier with other judges next year so the courthouse can seek larger or more consolidated items before the state deadline. He also said the county is exploring a self-help kiosk for pro se litigants as a longer-term idea, but noted such kiosks would be more expensive and likely require additional funding.
The board’s approval allows court staff to purchase listed items and seek reimbursement under the Indiana Supreme Court Court Improvement Grant program.
