Howard County District Court Deficit

Howard County District Court is facing a deficit heading into the new year.  District Judge Jessica Steel Gunter, who oversees the office, says the financial shortage stems from declining collections on fines imposed to district court defendants.  State law allows for income tax refunds to be withheld from recipients and used to cover any outstanding fine debt.  However, most state tax refunds are minimal when compared to past due fines.  Also, sheriff/collector Bryan McJunkins noted that process would be very time consuming for county employees.  State law does not allow district courts to garnish wages as a way of paying off fines.  Judge Gunter did say some businesses are willing to withhold money from paychecks in order to keep the employee on the job and out of jail.
Next year’s budget shortfall for district court is expected to be slightly over 34 thousand dollars.  Budget committee members are planning to recommend the quorum court absorb the shortfall next year and ask cities to include money in their budgets for 2021 to help offset the shortage.