Judge Binnie seeks salary parity, auto allowance and lawn-care increase for JP office

During the county agenda, the court introduced Judge Binnie, who described office coverage arrangements and requested several budget adjustments, including a request that the justice-of-the-peace salary be set at parity with a commissioner covering the same precinct area.

Judge Binnie said she alternates weekend coverage with a colleague and recuses herself when conflicts arise to preserve fairness in hearings. "I've been in Marion County as of yesterday for 43 years," she said, describing long local service as context for coverage arrangements.

Salary and expense requests: a court member said the auto allowance change equates to about a 5% increase (cited as roughly $285) and discussed a requested $200 increase in the office's lawn-care budget to cover current mowing and trimming costs. The court discussed that justices of the peace cover precincts and sometimes sit for each other, and a court member asked that the JP salary be aligned with commissioner pay because JPs cover precinct-wide duties.

Next steps: the transcript records discussion but no formal motion or vote on salary parity or the expense increases. The court did not record final approval in the provided segments; any budget adjustments would be subject to later formal budget actions and certifications.