County Challenges Judges’ Demands

The county on Thursday formally challenged a judicial action signed by local judges demanding the allocation of $23 million in additional funding for Orange County courts.

The challenge, likely to be heard next week in Los Angeles, labels the demands “extravagant” as well as “unreasonable and inappropriate in light of the county’s present fiscal condition.”

The judges insist the county has not provided the courts with enough money to operate through the end of the fiscal year or to pay for critical projects like an airport-style security system for the Central Courthouse.

In their civil complaint, the judges demanded $13.3 million to cover court operations through June 30, plus another $10 million for technology upgrades and capital projects, as well as to pay for 56 new positions that the courts want to fill next year.The county maintains that the courts will only need $1 million to $2 million to continue operations.

In papers filed Thursday, county attorneys describe the judges’ legal maneuvers as an “unprecedented, unwarranted and unlawful effort . . . to subvert the county’s budgeting process and avoid their own public duty to manage their affairs with real fiscal responsibility.”

The challenge states that the Board of Supervisors is responsible for setting county budgets.