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® Notes from the County Board/Bench Session October 7, 2003 Background• State takeover of the operations budget for the District Court was completed in July, 2003. The agreement spells out which entity is responsible for budgeting for the courts: Ramsey County is responsible for facilities and capital spending (which includes new buildings, initial furnishings, maintenance, security, and fixtures in new buildings, and furniture in the courtrooms specifically), and the State of Minnesota is responsible for the operational budget (personnel, supplies, replacement furnishings/fixtures, office furniture etc...for the day-to-day operation of the courts). County staff made the comment that "remember, Ramsey County gave up HACA in consideration of the State taking over the operations of the Courts." The County Board asked staff to prepare a detailed analysis of the responsibilities of the County and the State in relation to the District Court budget. They will plan to review this at an upcoming Board work session in late October or early November (I will forward the date as soon as it becomes available). County Manager Twa commented that it was his experience that there was no consistency in • other districts in terms of the agreements between counties and the state about responsibilities or payments to the counties-each had negotiated their own agreements. Concerns• Several commissioners noted concern about the county's ability to service additional debt related to any major capital improvements (including the possibility of moving the court to a new facility in the suburbs). (Haigh, Rettman, Ortega specifically). It was confirmed that there were dollars included in the 2004 County Budget for continuing the rent at the Maplewood facility. The proposed increase in debt service for 800 MHz and the County Library systems were noted as examples of the kind of prioritizing the Board would need to do over the next month or so in order to determine what would be funded for 2004. They seemed to indicate that the Courts were not a priority in terms of funding for a large capital project. There was a discussion between Commissioner Bennett and Jolly Mangine (the County's facility director) about how much of the space in the various locations occupied by the Courts was used for corrections, the county attorney, public defenders, city attorneys, etc.). Jolly explained that while there was space utilized for those various participants in the court process, they were incidental, and were essential to the smooth operation of the court system. • Budget Impact/Shortfall: