Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Judicial Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Judge Kight tells Ware County commissioners HB 85 will reduce county payments for Superior Court judges
Summary
Judge Kight explained that House Bill 85 raised state-paid salaries for Superior Court judges and ended county supplements, replacing them with a lower locality pay; the change will reduce county expenditures and is temporarily affected by Judge Gillis's retirement.
Judge Kight addressed the Ware County Board of Commissioners at the Feb. 9, 2026 meeting to summarize how House Bill 85 changes judicial compensation and the implications for county budgets.
According to the minutes, Judge Kight said HB 85 increased state-paid salaries for Superior Court judges and terminated the separate county supplements that counties had paid. The bill replaces those supplements with locality pay at a lower amount; Judge Kight said this will reduce the county's overall budget obligations for judicial pay. He also noted that because Judge Gillis has retired, locality pay will be lower for a few months until a new judge is appointed to fill that seat, further reducing the short-term locality pay disbursement recorded in county budgets.
The minutes record this as a presentation and do not show any subsequent motion directing staff to take budget action or to amend appropriations. No detailed dollar amounts of the locality pay change or a formal fiscal impact analysis appear in the minutes. The board did not take formal action on the matter during this session, and no timeline for follow-up was recorded.
