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Justice court budget reviewed; officials agree to shift modest funds to cover juror postage and travel
Summary
During the May 18 Lincoln County budget meeting, justice court staff explained juror postage and training travel have increased. Officials agreed to reallocate funds from publicity/subscription to travel to create a small buffer and asked staff to circulate revised budget numbers.
Lincoln County officials reviewed the justice court’s proposed budget May 18 and agreed to adjust line items to better cover juror postage and training travel.
The justice court presenter told officials that postage spikes are largely due to juror notifications and mailings. “We’re sending out so much…mail for the jurors,” the presenter said, and added that travel and training costs rose because judges sometimes travel out of county for training (Missoula) and to other courts (Billings).
Members discussed using underused publicity/subscription funds to cover travel increases and create a modest buffer. During the exchange participants mentioned adjusting the publicity/subscription line to roughly $600 and raising travel to about $1,400 so the court would not appear over budget on the travel line; the presenter and chair agreed to make the adjustments and circulate corrected figures. The meeting record does not show a formal roll-call vote on the transfer; the change was managed administratively.
The presenter also stressed that juror-related costs vary year to year—some years have no major trials, other years have many—and therefore the jury expense line needs flexibility. County officials noted that wages and employee contributions had not yet been factored into draft budgets; the chair asked the presenter to email the updated budget once final numbers were available.
What’s next: The presenter will provide updated budget sheets to the county with finalized wages/contributions and adjusted line items; the meeting adjourned without formal votes on the justice court budget.
