Legal action sought on Pa. court funding

Millions of taxpayer dollars are at stake in Lawrence and Mercer counties in a court action seeking to make the state comply with a 1987 Pennsylvania Supreme Court order.

That decision ordered the state to fund all Common Pleas and District Court costs.

Currently, the counties pay for these lower judiciary costs.

In Lawrence County, compliance with the order would free up about $1.5 million annually or the equivalent of a third of a mill, said James Gagliano, Lawrence County administrator.

Mercer County Commissioner Brian Beader said, “We are talking about enormous sums of money,” and added that county costs would likewise be cut by “millions of dollars per year” in Mercer County.

Read the full story in Monday’s Vindicator and on vindy.com