PROVO — As a former attorney, Utah County Commissioner Gary Anderson didn't expect to plead a case before the 4th District Court in Provo during his elected term.

But the risk of having to raise countywide taxes by $1 million because of a court decision has changed his mind. The commission is preparing to ask the 4th District Court to reconsider a decision that would potentially require the county to add at least three more prosecutors and public defenders to the county attorney's office. The change would cost an estimated $500,000, which is money the county doesn't have, Anderson says.

"I know those (judges) over there (in the 4th District Court) and I know they're reasonable people, and most of them want to serve the public, and most of them want to cooperate," Anderson said. "I think once they see that this is costing the taxpayers this kind of money and that they can make a couple of little adjustments (to avoid the cost), then they'll reconsider. I really believe that."

Earlier this summer, a committee of judges in the 4th District Court decided not to make a separate schedule of hearings for class A misdemeanors for Provo city attorneys. Instead, county attorneys have been handling the rapidly mounting caseload with insufficient resources.

Representatives from the city and county attorney's office had asked the court to schedule a period of two or three hours twice a week where Provo's class A misdemeanor cases would be heard so it would be more convenient for Provo city attorneys to handle the cases.

Class A misdemeanor cases must be heard in the 4th District Court building in Provo, but Provo's attorneys now work out of a newly opened justice court, located a few blocks away. Provo agreed to allow their city attorneys to travel to the 4th District Court for a scheduled block of class A misdemeanor cases, but the court's reluctance to set a schedule for Provo's cases has kept the city's attorneys in the justice court, and Utah County attorneys have picked up the load — some 500 to 700 cases a year.

A scheduling change that has been under way in the 4th District Court for the past year also has required Utah County to hire more attorneys and spend another $500,000 annually. The Utah County Commission approved hiring three public defenders on Tuesday, but the prospect of having to hire five more attorneys is daunting, said Commissioner Steve White.

"Who will suffer will be the property taxpayers of Utah," White said. "This change by the district court will not impact anyone except the property taxpayers because that is the only tax we can raise to cover the cost."

White said the county paid the previous $500,000 from funds that had been appropriated elsewhere, but funds aren't available for another $500,000. A tax raise to cover the unexpected $1 million would be about $10 per household, White said, but the fee could be recurring — and it would quickly add up.