LIVINGSTON, La. (AP) — Livingston Parish opened a courthouse annex last week, but its plans for a complete new courthouse remain in limbo.

The Advocate reports bids received last month on a proposed $18.4 million courthouse exceed the amount the parish has bonded for the building, and officials are scrambling to find a financial solution.

Bob Morrison, chief judge of the 21st Judicial District Court, says the newly opened annex serves as a stopgap measure by adding a courtroom, but doesn't solve the bigger problems that exist with the current courthouse.

For more than a decade, Morrison and other parish officials have sought to build a new courthouse to replace the 1941 building.

Officials interviewed said they have no specific plans for the old courthouse, which several referred to as being obsolete.

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