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Judge asks Jackson County to end locally funded juvenile-referee post; commissioners approve
Summary
Judge MacTavish asked the county to eliminate a locally funded juvenile-referee position to protect court rankings and resources; commissioners approved the judges' recommendation and agreed the referee, Jeff Nierman, will work through the end of the year.
Judge MacTavish told Jackson County commissioners the legislature’s recent actions have reduced court resources in neighboring jurisdictions and urged the county to eliminate a county-funded juvenile-referee position held by Jeff Nierman. He said the referee’s current .25 weighting on certain dockets lowers the court’s statewide metrics and estimated that taking the referee’s cases could “raise that ranking number by 13 or 14.”
The judge described the proposed change as proactive: the position is locally funded rather than state-sponsored, and he recommended eliminating it while keeping the referee in place through year-end. Commissioner Matt Reedy moved to approve the judges’ recommendation; Commissioner Drew Storey seconded and the motion carried with three yes votes.
Next steps discussed included ensuring court resources and judges are available to absorb the referee workload and coordinating any personnel transitions with affected staff. The board did not record a formal timetable beyond the judge’s proposal that Jeff Nierman remain until the end of the calendar year.
