Treasurer's office to accept $250,000 grant to sustain juror stipend program; stipend likely reduced to $75/day

The Treasurer and Tax Collector's Office requested authorization to accept and expend $250,000 from the Jane Trivedi Fund to continue the "Be the Jury" program that raises stipends for low‑income jurors. Amanda Fried said jurors in California receive $15/day and that increasing the stipend to $100/day under the program enabled broader participation. With the new grant, the program can continue for another year but staff said they will likely need to reduce the stipend to $75/day to stretch available philanthropic funding.

Fried said program evaluation showed 84% of participants said they could not have served without the stipend and that participants were more racially diverse and had a median household income of about $38,000. The committee voted to forward the resolution to the full board with a positive recommendation (3 ayes).