Switzerland County Circuit Court Judge Greg Coy went before the Switzerland County Council on Wednesday, October 8th, to report on two transactions regarding court funds.
The first involved the Probation Administration Fee fund, which contains fees paid by criminal defendants who are placed on probation. Those fees are meant to offset the cost of the probation officer’s salary, which is set by the State of Indiana.
Judge Coy notified the council that the fund has built up to the point that $25,000 will be transferred to the County’s General Fund.
The second transaction involved the Supplemental Public Defender Fund, which contains money reimbursed to the county by the State for the cost of public defender fees. The Judge’s staff files reports of expenditures each quarter with the State Public Defender Commission, which review’s the claim and reimburses the county from money collected from criminal defendants who pay court costs and fines.
Switzerland County is one of 62 counties in the state who participate in this program of reimbursement.
Judge Coy is ordering that $75,000 be transferred from that fund to the County’s General Fund.
“These transfers, totaling $100,000, are beneficial to everyone in Switzerland County,” Judge Coy said. “They are not taxes paid by local taxpayers, but can be used to benefit all residents of Switzerland County by being placed in the County General Fund.”
Judge Coy told the council that he hoped that this would demonstrate that county elected officials are mindful of the fact that taxpayers want their elected office holders to operate their offices professionally, but also cost effectively.