Circuit clerk presents 2026 budget with proposed pretrial GPS funding and higher jury expense line

Circuit Clerk Stallings presented the proposed 2026 consolidated courts fund budget and described a new pretrial services expense the juvenile judge requested be set at $120,000 for GPS monitoring of defendants. Stallings said she initially estimated $130,000 based on current usage but was following the judge’s preference to budget $120,000 and to work to reduce GPS monitoring duration in 2026.
Stallings also proposed increasing the jury expense line by $5,000 to reflect an apparent average that could leave the category near $54,000; she noted actual spending fluctuates widely depending on how many juries are empaneled. She described modest increases to mileage and training lines and replacements for aging office computers; Judge Bacon requested new courtroom chairs, which Stallings noted in office expenditures. Commissioners asked for earlier budget delivery to the county clerk so materials can be posted publicly and studied in advance.
The commission voted to approve the Christian County consolidated courts fund budget as presented.