Carbon County Press Release
Carbon County will continue to be “home” for the 7th District Courthouse.
Recent discussions regarding the 2018 Carbon County Budget and proposed increases on both the Carbon County Levy & the Municipal Services Levy has brought back to light confusion surrounding the 7th District Courthouse.
The 7th District Court serves Carbon, Emery, Grand and San Juan counties, their main offices must be located within one of those counties which is determined at a state level. Carbon County benefits tremendously from the State funded facility through the jobs that will remain here in the county.
Some residents remain unaware of the difference between the 7th District Court and the Justice Court. The Justice Court generally tries cases such as city or county ordinance violations and low-level crimes; for example traffic tickets, disorderly conduct or driving under the influence.
The 7th District court has jurisdiction to try criminal felonies such as; homicides, assaults, sex and drug offenses, forgery, arson, robbery, civil cases and misdemeanors in certain circumstances.
The state conducted a study and found that the current 7th District Courthouse in Price did not meet required state standards and would need updating. The upgrades would cost approximately $2.5 million dollars and would only serve as a “band-aid”. By building a new courthouse and using the current building as an extra source of revenue, the county will have two facilities generating revenue in just 20 years.
Many Carbon County residents believe it will cost our taxpayers $14 million. In fact, it is quite the opposite, none of the funds will come from local county taxes. The State is designing and managing the project and the county arranged the financing simply because they are the owner of the building.
$7 million dollars of the project money will come through the Community Impact Board (CIB) fund, with a 2.5 percent fixed interest rate. Our county representatives looked at many options and ultimately determined to only get half of the funds through CIB to leave funds available for other worthy projects that may come up. The other $7 million will be financed through Zions Bank Public Finance.
The money that will be required to pay loans on this project will all come from the State Administrative Office of the Courts. The State will pay for the debt service, debt reserves and maintenance for 23 years. There is also a plan to put a portion of the funds in savings for future repairs and maintenance costs.
“This project is self funding and self perpetuating,” said Commissioner Potter, “no funds from the county will be used to support this project, it will be fully funded by the State.”
Carbon County Commissioners and Auditor are always willing to sit down with a resident that may have questions or concerns. To schedule a meeting with the Commissioners call 435-636-3226, for Auditor Seth Oveson call 435-636-3220.