Lake Co. may raise court doc fee to $10

Filing a lawsuit would get more expensive next year under a plan being developed in Lake County.

The proposal would double the Lake County circuit court document storage fee to $10. The fee applies to any court case filed in the county, regardless of whether the complaint is civil or criminal, Assistant County Administrator Amy McEwan said.

If eventually approved by the Lake County Board, the increase would become effective Jan. 1, 2011.

State law allows courts to charge storage fees of up to $15. In Lake County, the fee has been $5 per case since 1992, McEwan said.

The fee defrays the expenses of off-site case storage and retrieval, McEwan said. The extra revenue garnered by the proposed fee increase would help pay for a new records system that would allow attorneys to file documents electronically.

That system will save the county circuit court clerk's office money and manpower and improve efficiency in the office, McEwan said.

"If they file (a case) electronically, it doesn't require a clerk to help them out," she said.

It also will allow attorneys to file documents whenever they want to, not just during the court clerk's office hours, McEwan said.

"This will allow you to (file) in the middle of the night if you wanted to," she said.

To use the proposed electronic filing system, an attorney would have to register with the court clerk's office, county officials said.

The county board's law and judicial committee was scheduled to discuss the proposed fee increase and the proposed electronic filing system Tuesday but postponed debates until its next meeting on July 6. The full board could vote on both plans later that month.