MERRILL -- A move to shut down Merrill's municipal court could cost speeders and everyone else charged with violating city ordinances more money.

Merrill is considering closing the court in 2010 and shifting its caseload, including juvenile offenses, to the Lincoln County Circuit Court.

If the move is made, speeders could expect to pay about $60 more for tickets than they do now.

City Council members will consider the change at their final budget meeting Nov. 10.

Judge Jim Sheridan, who has presided over the court since its creation 12 years ago, said the city will lose out on a significant revenue stream from a growing caseload if it makes the change. He said the court is on pace to handle its largest caseload ever this year, about 2,500 citations.

If council members agree to the change, all of Sheridan's cases would be transferred to the Lincoln County Circuit Court when his term as elected judge ends April 30. The municipal court also has two part-time clerk positions that would be eliminated.

In 2008, the court made just under $65,000 after expenses were subtracted from the department's revenue of about $130,000, according to Merrill Finance Director Kathy Unertl. She said she expects similar numbers for 2009.

Unertl said if the city had no municipal court in 2008, the city would have had no expenses and the net revenue from the violations would have been $26,000.

Merrill City Council President Steve Hass said he expects that number to grow if the county takes over collection of unpaid tickets without the added expenses of the judge's and clerks' wages.

City Council member Anne Caylor said she and other council members brought up the proposal early in the 2010 budget planning process.

The fine for a typical city citation now is $126.60. The city retains $60 from that fine. The remaining money goes to the state and Lincoln County.

If city citations are processed by the circuit court, residents would pay $186; the city would retain $45. The city would lose $15 because $10 more per ticket would be allocated to police technology funds and a $5 processing fee would be paid to the circuit court.

Sheridan said he works with people struggling to pay their violations and tries to make the court "people-friendly."