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Court officials warn rising interpreter and juror costs, ask for $90,000 recording-system funding
Summary
Superior Court Administrator Patty Magcguire told commissioners that interpreter expenses and more frequent jury trials have strained the court budget and asked the county to consider funding a replacement courtroom recording system now estimated at about $90,000; staff will explore contracting and fund sources.
Patty Magcguire, Chief Superior Court Administrator, told the Mason County commissioners that several uncontrollable costs are pressuring the court’s midyear budget, though no formal amendment was requested today. Magcguire said interpreter fees have “gone through the roof,” noting in-person requirements for trials mean the county sometimes must fly interpreters to trials — one recent trial required two Samoan interpreters, costing about $2,000 in travel for a single interpreter. She said the court’s interpreter line historically budgeted about $60,000; spending was $61,000 in 2025 and $59,000 in 2024, and year-to-date the court has spent roughly $22,000.
Magcguire also described higher juror-related costs as jury trials increase: juror supplies, modest per-diem pay and mileage add up when trials are long. “We pay them $10 a day,” she said, adding the court tries to provide decent snacks and lunch for jurors during deliberations.
Separately, Magcguire renewed a request to replace the courtroom recording system (the county’s current Jav system) with a newer package (vendors include JAV and FTR). She said the replacement was estimated at $85,000 last fall but has risen to about $90,000; the two competing suppliers provided similar quotes. Magcguire said the current system’s components are 13 years old and have failed during trials, causing stops in proceedings. She described FTR’s system as offering cloud storage and live closed-captioning useful for jurors and audience members, while JAV stores recordings on county servers, requiring purchase of server space. Magcguire asked staff to explore fund sources and implementation options; staff noted there is roughly $90,000 in a trial-court improvement fund and suggested looking for reallocation options.
Commissioners asked about funding sources and whether the purchase could be covered from court improvement/cohort funds; staff said there are about $90,000 in the cohort improvement fund but that eligibility and timing must be checked. Commissioners asked staff to evaluate whether costs could be supplanted from other planned courtroom improvements and to report back. Magcguire emphasized the operational risk of waiting: “one of these days we’re going to turn it on and it’s not going to come on at all.”
The board did not take a formal vote on funding today; staff were asked to refine options, confirm fund eligibility and return with a recommendation, including whether to include the item in the upcoming budget amendment.
