Municipal Court

Courtney Whiteside, Director

ADOPTED FY23 BUDGET

$1,232,004

Department Mission

FULL TIME EQUIVALENTS

22.0

The Municipal Court’s mission is to provide impeccable customer service to the citizens of St. Louis County and all that have a need to conduct business with the court. The Municipal Court achieves this excellent customer service by resolving all municipal cases in an expedient manner while upholding the integrity of the court, the ordinances of the county, and the laws of the state.

Budget Overview

The 2023 adopted budget for the Municipal Court is $1,232,004, a decrease of $812,806 or 39.7 percent from the 2022 adjusted budget of $2,044,810. Personnel costs comprise 80.9 percent of the budget for 22 positions (22.0 full time equivalents). Operating expenses account for 19.1 percent of the budget.

Significant Changes

The 2023 adopted budget moves 9 positions (9.0 FTEs), including all judge positions and other appointed non‐merit positions, to the County Executive’s Office in accordance with recently amended Section 3.040 of the St. Louis County Charter. As the Court continues to adapt to the lasting effects of COVID‐19, state and local legislative changes, and internal reforms, fines and fees collected are expected to stay below pre‐COVID and pre‐reform levels.

The County Council reduced the Municipal Court’s budget by $258,607 (17.3%) compared to the County Executive’s recommendation to remove the value of 75% of vacant positions.

Core Business Functions

The Municipal Court is responsible for the management of:

→ Providing a safe place for the peaceable resolution to a dispute

→ Ensuring fair and unbiased justice is carried out in all cases

→ Adjudicating cases between parties where the defendant is accused of violating a local county ordinance or that of a municipality contracted with the court for court services

→ Maintaining a complete and accurate record of events in all cases

→ Collection of lawfully assessed court fines and costs