DECISION SUMMARY: The Judicial Finance Commission's scope of review is limited by section 50.640, RSMo 2000, to determine whether the budget request is reasonable and therefore constitutional arguments are not addressed. See State Tax Com'n v. Administrative Hearing Com'n, 641 S.W.2d 69, 75 (Mo.banc 1982). Security for court system is not solely an executive function. The Supreme Court of Missouri stated, "The purposes of sections 50.640, 50.641 and 477.600 are to ensure that county officials include expenditures to support the judicial function in their annual appropriations and to provide those county officials an informal and expeditious mechanism for challenging the reasonableness of the appropriations sought by the circuit court. Given that legislative intent, 'operations of the circuit court' necessarily includes the whole process that causes the courts to function. No one could seriously argue that a reasonably safe, accessible and habitable facility in which to hold court is not critical to performance of the judicial function." State ex rel. Twenty-Second Judicial Circuit v. Jones, 823 S.W.2d 471, 477 (Mo.banc 1992). Therefore, if security concerns are not adequately addressed in the county's budget, inclusion of funding for adequate security in the circuit court's budget is proper. Here, St. Charles County is obligated to provide the funds necessary to employ four security personnel at the equivalent of county pay grade 7, step 1.

DISSENT: In seeking to direct details of how security is to be designed and designated, the circuit court has usurped the St. Charles County Commission's responsibility of how to allocate its budget for a purpose related to the function and/or performance of a structure or building under its control.

DISSENT: In chapter 57, RSMo, sheriffs are given direct statutory requirements to provide security for each division of the circuit court, when so directed by the court. The Judicial Finance Commission is in violation of section 57.090, RSMo 2000, if it assigns that duty to the circuit court to hire its own personnel.

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