ROCKLAND — Chief Judge of District Court Susan W. Calkins has asked Knox County Commissioners to withhold seeking an increase in rents for court space.

In a letter received Monday from Court Administrator Dana T. Hagerthy, commissioners were reminded of the dire financial straits of state government.

Commissioners asked the state for a rent increase of 4 percent. This would mean a monthly rental bill for district court of $2,667. This returns $32,000 a year to the county.

County administrative assistant Virginia Lindsey said the county has a long-term lease with the state calling for an annual escalator based on increased costs of maintaining the court space. If the state cannot pay the rent increase, Lindsey said that the county budget would have to be adjusted to reflect the change.

The budget only estimates $30,693 income from rentals and leases of county buildings. This also includes leases for Superior Court facilities, and judges’ chambers for both Superior Court and Maine Supreme Judicial Court justices. Lindsey could not explain the discrepancy, but promised to check it out.

Hagerthy also implied in his letter that “In some areas of the state our operating costs have reached the point (where) we are seriously considering closing courts.”

The uncertainty of the court’s budget for the next two years could place Rockland on this list, Hagerthy said. When the state reduced the court’s budget by $1.6 million for the current accounting period, Hagerthy said it was proposed that 10 district courts in the state be closed. The reaction resulted in the Legislature restoring those cuts until June. What will happen for the next biennium remains uncertain, he said.

“We don’t know what will happen,” Hagerthy said. “We may be asked to make hard decisions again. If put in that position and the costs of operating the Rockland District Court would result in major savings, Rockland would rise to the top of the list of courts to be considered for closing.”

The rent for the Rockland space has doubled since 1978, Hagerthy said. But the current rental fee of $10 to $11 per square foot was about equal to what the state would be looking for any new leases.

Commissioners, who also were in hot water in the county for the size of the proposed budget, were requested by Calkins for their “indulgence during these trying times so that we may continue to provide our current level of service to the citizens of Knox County.”