Liberty County OKs modest pay supplement for Superior Court staff attorneys as state changes judge pay

Liberty County commissioners voted to approve a modest increase to supplements for staff attorneys who work in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit and discussed how a recent state law will shrink county obligations for Superior Court judge supplements.

The commissioners approved a motion to increase the county portion of staff-attorney pay, with the county's portion estimated at about $251 per staff attorney per month, to take effect with the judges' new state pay schedule projected to start Jan. 1, 2026.

Why it matters: The Georgia General Assembly in recent legislation changed how Superior Court judges are paid, shifting more base compensation responsibility to the state and reducing long-standing county supplements. Local judges and district court administrators told the commission the change creates an opportunity to reallocate some county funds to staff attorneys, who the judges said are essential for case research, motion responses and technology support in increasingly busy dockets.

Judge James Hendricks, speaking for judges in the Atlantic Judicial Circuit, said the judges support the state's move and asked counties to consider reallocating part of the supplement back to pay staff attorneys. "We are asking for a modest increase offsetting what we're giving to you," Hendricks told the board, adding that Liberty County's share would be about "$253 per month per attorney" based on circuit calculations.

First Judicial Administrative District Court Administrator Randy Weiland told the commission the Atlantic Circuit has trailed other circuits in local supplements to staff attorneys and said the circuit's priority is retaining those attorneys. He said the Atlantic Circuit previously paid lower locality supplements than neighboring circuits and urged Liberty County to consider reallocating freed funds to staff-attorney pay.

Judge James Rose described staff-attorney duties and the practical effect of the pay change: "They write memorandums for the judges. They do a lot of legal research. They oftentimes have to attend court... they don't have a step or a pay scale," Rose said, arguing that modest county supplements would help with retention.

Clarifying details discussed at the meeting: the Atlantic Judicial Circuit has six staff attorneys; Liberty County makes up about 36.7% of the circuit's population; the county's existing judge-supplement obligation (previously described in county budgets) is forecast to fall as the state phases in higher base pay; and staff-attorney supplements were described as an increase that would raise Liberty County's annual outlay by roughly $9,050 over current budgeted amounts, with the county's per-attorney share cited as about $251 per month.

Action taken: Commissioners moved and seconded a motion to approve the staff-attorney supplement increase and voted in favor; the board directed staff to prepare the precise budget amendment language for final accounting and to align the effective date with the state pay change schedule. The board did not yet adopt any long-term county commitment for judge locality pay; presenters said judge locality obligations are expected to phase down over several years and ultimately sunset as state pay increases.

What remains open: Several presenters emphasized the inter-county nature of the funding change. If any county in the six-county circuit opts out of a cooperative approach, the circuit's allocations would need recalculation; presenters said the plan would be adjusted pro rata if necessary. Commissioners also asked for final dollar amounts and formal budget amendment language from county finance staff before the January effective date.