A big change is coming to Sonoita as the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted to close the only courthouse in the small town in a 3-0 vote.
County residents must now travel to Nogales for court business, a 45-minute drive for residents.
Supervisor Manny Ruiz says that at the end of the day, it all came down to money and there just wasn't a great load of cases in Sonoita.
Sonoita resident, Darcy Mentone is upset with the closing.
"Everybody is really frustrated. We feel like we provide a lot of taxes, don't have many services in Sonoita and those services keep dwindling."
Ruiz says they made all the necessary cuts within other departments, and this was just another step to try and make sure they have revenue and money available to continue to deliver services.
One possible option? Having a judge come in often.
"It can be a judge that goes out there once or twice a week depending. We want to make sure our administrator and manager get together, make a plan and approve it by the board and move forward," said Ruiz.
The courthouse is set to close January 2019.
