Adams County committee backs resolution asking state to boost circuit court support by $70 million

Adams County’s Public Safety and Judiciary Committee voted to recommend a resolution asking Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Legislature to increase statewide circuit court support payments by $70,000,000 and forward the measure to the County Board for consideration.

The resolution, introduced by Adams County Clerk of Court Miranda Christiansen, says counties now shoulder a much larger share of circuit court costs and asks the state to increase the circuit court cost appropriation by $70 million. “Adams County recognizes that there is an overwhelming need as a statewide whole for those court support payments to be in a more appropriate ratio,” Christiansen told the committee, adding that the county did not itself face the extreme shortfalls some other counties report but supports a statewide fix.

Christiansen reviewed figures cited in the resolution, including a statement that in February 2023 the total cost to run Wisconsin circuit courts was $237,000,000 and that counties pay substantially more than the state for many court functions. The resolution endorses work by the Wisconsin Clerk of Circuit Court Association and the Wisconsin Counties Association and requests a $70,000,000 increase in circuit court support payments payable to counties in the state budget identified in the resolution text.

Committee members asked how any additional funding would be divided among counties. Christiansen said the state uses an existing formula to calculate each county’s share and that the county could not predict its exact percentage until that formula is applied. She noted factors that affect the formula include interpreter costs, guardian ad litem fees and other local court support costs.

Supervisor Scott moved to accept the resolution as written; Supervisor Jay seconded. The committee approved the measure by voice vote and will forward it to the full County Board for consideration in March 2025.

The committee record shows the resolution is recommended for adoption by the Public Safety and Judiciary Committee and forwarded to the County Board; no fiscal note was attached to the local committee record.