Juror lunches take bite out of court budget

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Updated: November 11, 2011 1:00PM

Even if there is no such thing as a free lunch, members of the Kane County Board’s Judicial and Public Safety Committee agree that $6.80 seems pretty cheap.

The committee discussed the question of how much the county should spend on juror lunches. It came up as part of a supplementary budget increase for the judiciary department that the committee passed at its meeting Friday.

The county spends $6.80 a day on lunches for jurors and actually pays jurors only $10 a day, Chief Judge Keith Brown said.

The budget increase asked for an additional $33,000 for juror expenses, which included meals, return postage for the questionnaire, and additional costs for jury management software.

The extra funding is needed because the courts are having more jury trials, Brown said.

Members of the committee initially targeted the juror meals as a way to cut back on the budget. But they agreed that the amount spent per meal is not excessive.

“I was going to ask about how to save some money there, but $6 already seems pretty cheap,” said county board member T.R Smith, R-Hampshire.

The total resolution asked for $192,000 in supplementary funding from the county’s general fund. In addition to juror expenses, the additional funding is for services such as interpreters for Spanish and exotic languages, medical testing, and providing court-appointed counsel for criminal defendants when there is a conflict with the public defender’s office.

The court system will see additional funding through an increase in court fees for criminal and civil cases that recently was approved. Part of the increase goes into effect in October, and part goes into effect in December 2012.