Montgomery County restricting access to courthouse

Montgomery County officials are taking a preventive approach when it comes to courthouse security, limiting the building’s access to just one entry. 

At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to allow only one entrance, the doors on the south side of the building, to be open to the public, including the handicapped. 

All other doors will be secured and not accessible for entry or exit by the public, except in an emergency.

Montgomery County Auditor Stephanie Burke says the supervisors, district court and county employees, reviewed guidelines for courthouse and public building security approved by the Association of Counties and the Iowa Judicial Council. She says those guidelines were established following a series of incidents at other Iowa courthouses in the past few years, including similar sized ones like Jackson (20,000 people) and Madison Counties (15,000 people.)

“You can’t this is only going to happen in bigger counties,” Burke said. “Days of saying that are over.”

Burke, the supervisors, and district court officials agreed they needed to be proactive in regards to security. 

“This is another added security measure,” she said. “With the way the world is, we have to do what we can to provide the safety and security for everyone who uses and works at the courthouse.”