The commission decided in April to sell up to $3.6 million in bonds to finance the new Justice Ccourt, which would go just south of the old county courthouse in the center of Brigham City.

The historic courthouse, the commission determined, cannot accommodate the growing needs of the Justice Court and cannot be modified to meet modern security standards.

But a citizens group that does not see the need for a new court building and does not like the central Brigham City location gathered more than 6,500 signatures of registered voters on a petition to force a public vote before any bonds are sold.

Box Elder County Attorney Amy Hugie said Friday that the commission has several options, none of which provides enough money to begin construction without borrowing the money by selling bonds.

Under the commission's previous plan, the $3.6 million in bonds would be repaid from a new court security surcharge authorized by the Legislature and by court fees. Taxes would not be raised.

Now one of the options is for the commission to put that same revenue aside every year and save up for a new Justice Court building, Hugie said.

That won't solve the immediate problem: poor security for a fast-growing case load.

Inmates are escorted to court appearances via the same doors and use the same bathrooms as people there to pay traffic fines. There are no metal detectors or other screening devices.

“The security issues that we have are a liability for the county,” says Hugie.

kmoulton@sltrib.com