Denton County commissioners Tuesday approved 14 nonprofit organizations to receive money from jurors who choose to donate their jury duty paychecks, rejecting a recommendation from an advisory committee that only two organizations be on that list.

Speaking for the five-member committee, Amanda Lehde, chief administrator for Commissioner Cynthia White, recommended the juror donation form include only two state-mandated groups, the Crime Victims Compensation Fund and Denton County Child Welfare.

In November, commissioners rejected the Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue Group’s request to be added to the list of 23 organizations eligible to receive those donations.

Commissioners then formed a committee to review the list and the process for getting on it.

The committee sent letters to organizations to let them know about the new guidelines. The committee received 19 applications; 11 or­ganizations met the committee’s guidelines.

Commissioners voted unanimously to include those 11, the two state-mandated groups and the Denton County Museums.

The museum group, which includes the Courthouse-on-the-Square Mus­eum, the Bayless-Selby House Museum and the Denton County African American Museum, had been knocked off the list because of the Comm­issioners Court’s own guidelines, but commissioners voted to place it back on the list.

Lehde said during her presentation that having so many groups on the list creates too much work for those who have to disseminate the money.

Denton County jurors receive $6 the first day, and on following days they receive $40. Lehde mentioned a scenario in which a juror may want to take that first day’s pay and give small increments to multiple groups, creating more work.

“[It] just increased your work sixfold,” she said.

“You multiply it by the number of jurors called in — the amount of work this could potentially have seemed to be overwhelming,” she said. “The committee felt the least number of organizations to choose from, the better.”

While they thanked the committee for its work, the commissioners disagreed.

“I don’t buy that it makes more work,” said Bobbie Mitch­ell, county commissioner for Precinct 3. “These charities on this list, I believe they deserve to receive this money if the citizens want to give to them.”

If jurors have only two charities to choose from, they may be put off from donating, she said.

Day Stay for Adults, one of the groups on the list, has received $882 so far this year from jury donations, its director said.

“When you’re a nonprofit serving the clientele we serve, you depend on any money that comes from anywhere,” said Andre Villarreal, executive director.

His only concern was that jurors should be able to donate to groups that aren’t on the list.

The commissioners had that concern as well.

County Judge Mary Horn offered a solution.

“Anyone who isn’t happy with the choices of who to donate to, they can always take the check and donate it to whomever they want to,” she said.

BJ LEWIS can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is blewis@dentonrc.com .