Commissioners decline action on district court bank account change, request clearer plan on use of county EIN

District court staff asked the board for permission to change names on district‑related bank accounts and to use the county Employer Identification Number (EIN) to open a specialty fund for the court’s drug court.

Whitney Richardson, representing the Fifth Judicial District Court, said the court currently shares bank accounts with the county clerk and requested the county allow the court to change the account names so the district court could receive court fees and open a dedicated drug-court account. “We currently share bank accounts with the county clerk, and her name is on those bank accounts. We're just looking to change those over to the Fifth Judicial District so we can deposit money,” Richardson said.

Commissioners and county officials raised concerns about using the county’s EIN for accounts that the court treats as separate, and whether the arrangement could impair county oversight and audit responsibilities. County legal counsel and the district attorney said the request required more detail and legal review to resolve the overlap of county and court fiscal responsibility.

The board closed the item without action on advice of counsel and asked staff, the district court and the DA to confer and return with a revised agenda item that clearly states the board‑level action requested and provides comparisons to practices in other Nevada counties.

No vote was taken. Several public commenters and a private counsel for the court spoke by phone in favor of finding an operational solution that balanced court needs for local account access and the county’s duty to record and audit public funds.