Antrim County commissioners took last-minute action to ensure the county will remain part of 86th District Court in the new year – but did so with the caveat they still plan to separate from Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties as soon as they can get legislative approval to do so.

Commissioners voted last week 4-0 – with Commissioner Jason Helwig absent – to withdraw their notice of intent to terminate an intercounty operating agreement for 86th District Court. The move avoided a potential January 1 disruption of services, since commissioners had previously voted in December 2023 to leave 86th District Court at the start of 2025 and create an independent district/probate court for Antrim County. However, that move requires legislative and gubernatorial approval – with little progress made toward obtaining that approval in 2024.

“This is not a simple thing that we’re aiming to do,” acknowledged Antrim County Administrator Jeremy Scott. “This is a long process, longer than what we were hoping for. But...we’re dedicated to moving forward and making sure the Antrim County public gets the best service for the least amount of money.”

Antrim County has maintained that the intercounty operating agreement for 86th District Court – which splits court costs proportionally among Antrim, Leelanau, and Grand Traverse counties, with Grand Traverse serving as the fiduciary – is inequitable to Antrim County. “The present arrangement does not promote the efficient administration of justice or deliver services to the people of Antrim County effectively or economically,” the 2023 resolution to withdraw stated. Scott previously wrote that “an Antrim County court system provides greater opportunity for communication, which will always be inherently difficult with courts, employees, and buildings in different counties.”

Antrim County, which initially also considered withdrawing from 13th Circuit Court but dropped that from the final 2023 resolution, estimated it could potentially save tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars by forming its own unified court. However, both Grand Traverse County and court staff have said Antrim County’s cost analysis left out a range of operational expenses and did not reflect a full accounting of running a court system. Such a move could actually cost Antrim County more in the long run, they believed.

Nevertheless, Grand Traverse County commissioners said this month they’d wish Antrim well and not fight the departure – but needed Antrim to commit to extending the intercounty agreement past January 1 to ensure services continue uninterrupted until legislative approval is granted for Antrim’s separation. County Administrator Nate Alger noted “there is no state movement at this point” and that without immediate action by Antrim, there’d be no funding agreement in place for 2025 for court services. As the fiduciary, that could leave Grand Traverse County on the hook for costs without clarity on how the county would be reimbursed by Antrim, he said.

County Commissioner Scott Sieffert said he appreciated Antrim “wanting to be on their own,” but agreed Grand Traverse needed a commitment to maintain the status quo for now – and should have a plan “with teeth” ready for dismantling services if Antrim didn’t provide that commitment. Grand Traverse County commissioners voted to notify Antrim they would extend the agreement for 30 days and expected Antrim to respond in that time period with a plan for moving forward. Facing the looming deadline, Antrim County commissioners voted the next day to withdraw their written notice of intent to terminate the agreement, allowing the court system to continue as is in 2025. Scott acknowledged that without the extension, “the financials (would) get really fuzzy” and Antrim County wouldn’t have the “protections of the agreement” beyond January 1.

However, Antrim County commissioners noted in their resolution that the existing agreement “makes no provision for the impact to the court’s operating agreement if legislative action is taken, with subsequent approval by the governor.” Therefore, while they agreed to withdraw their termination notice for now, they added a clause to allow early termination “if the State of Michigan takes legislative and gubernatorial action” on approving Antrim’s request to create its own court. Scott, who said he’s also requested information on certain cost courts and wants the three counties to revisit their financial arrangement for sobriety court in 2025, said Grand Traverse County officials indicated they would support Antrim’s separation if state approval is granted.

“We’ll take them at their word and have good faith that they will do what they said they will do,” Scott told Antrim commissioners. “If they don’t, you’ll be hearing from me again.”