Under Kansas law, each county is responsible for providing its own court facilities.
Kansas is divided into 31 judicial districts, which allows those counties to share resources and personnel. The chief judge supervises those employees, who are paid by the state.
Allen County is part of the 31st Judicial District, along with Neosho, Wilson and Woodson counties.
Chief Judge Daniel Creitz is based in Allen County but oversees all four counties.
Some of the larger counties — Douglas, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Reno, Wyandotte — comprise an entire district. Others are consolidated.
Each county must establish and maintain its own court facilities, Creitz said. Unless a judge orders a change of venue, cases are heard in the county where they are filed.
That can include a courthouse or a judicial building. Neosho County, for example, has both a courthouse in Erie and a district court annex in Chanute; hearings may be held at either location.
Cities also may have their own court facilities. Those are municipal courts and are not part of the district court system. 
Local court and law enforcement leaders have proposed a $9.95 million renovation/expansion project at Allen County Courthouse that would build a second courtroom and a new, secure entrance along with other improvements. Voters will decide on Nov. 7 whether to issue a bond for the project.
Creitz noted the Neosho County District Court facility at Chanute is currently undergoing renovations. The Woodson County Courthouse in Yates Center recently underwent renovations, too. Neither of those projects included any money from Allen County.
It’s not uncommon for small entities to join forces under one “district,” Creitz said. That doesn’t necessarily obligate those entities to pay for each other’s facilities.
Examples include K-State Research & Extension districts. In recent years, many smaller counties have consolidated to share resources and personnel, but each county maintains its own offices.
Churches often do the same thing.
A SERIES of informational meetings have been taking place to inform voters before the election.
The next will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Humboldt Senior Center.
