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Douglas County courts ask for larger budgets, citing low pay for court‑appointed counsel and growing workloads
Summary
County Court, District Court and the District Court clerk presented budget requests citing rising court-appointed attorney costs, new courtroom outfitting, drug court capacity and administrative transfers for the Board of Mental Health.
Douglas County judicial offices told the Board of Commissioners on May 20 they will seek higher budgets for fiscal 2025–26 to cover increased court-appointed attorney fees, courtroom outfitting and administrative responsibilities the county is absorbing from other offices.
County Court: Pam Cardenas, Judicial Administrator, and Judge Marcela Kime, Presiding County Court Judge, asked the board to fund a County Court request of $1,146,500, up from a target of $896,981. County Court staff said the principal drivers are increased court‑appointed attorney fees and relocation costs for the Civil Division. Cardenas said raising the criminal court hourly rate from $65 to $80 and probate from $85 to $100 would add roughly $198,138 to the county’s expense. Judge Kime said Douglas County currently "pay[s] the…
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