Since 1978, Rutland has had the status of being home to the only bankruptcy court in the state.

But within two years Rutland will lose that status when U.S. Bankruptcy Court moves to Burlington.

In the interim, the court next month will relocate around the corner to the federal courthouse on West Street, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Colleen Brown said in an interview Tuesday at the courthouse on Merchants Row.

Brown presided Tuesday over a ceremony marking the end of the court’s 26-year presence on the second floor of the Opera House.

The court, its 11 employees and Brown, will move to the federal building on West Street on March 23.

“The clerk’s office will move to Burlington and that will be the primary location of the court,” said Brown, who will also transfer her office to the federal building in Burlington.

She said the move will take place within 18 to 24 months.

The bankruptcy court will maintain a small clerk’s office in Rutland and continue to hold bankruptcy proceedings here twice a month, sharing the same courtroom with U.S District Court Judge Christina Reiss, said Brown, who has served on the bench for 12 years.

Court Clerk Thomas Hart elaborated in a subsequent phone call that the eventual move to Burlington is being done out of necessity.

Hart said the policy of the federal judiciary is to move courts out of private space and into government buildings, which also provides for better security.

“There was not space in the U.S. Post Office (building) of Rutland to have a … separate courtroom for bankruptcy court,” Hart said. “But there is space in Burlington for that and that is why we are moving there.”

He added that there are three courtrooms in the federal building in Burlington but only one in the federal building in Rutland.

Once the move to Burlington is made, Hart said three employees will be retained in Rutland to staff the bankruptcy clerk’s office.

“We don’t anticipate any of our current employees losing their jobs and we’re committed to finding a way to make this work,” he said.

Plans to relocate the court to Burlington caught Thomas Donahue of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce by surprise.

Donahue said he intends to contact the state’s congressional delegation to get the rationale behind the move.

“That is something I would like to talk to them about because any loss of jobs and activity like that, that goes on here on a daily basis is a setback for the area,” said Donahue, the Chamber’s executive director. “So, we wouldn’t want to let that go without looking at the entire decision and seeing if it’s justified.”

Rutland has been home to the only bankruptcy court in the state since Congress passed the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978. The law established bankruptcy courts in each federal judicial district.

Brown is the third bankruptcy judge to serve on the bench here. Rutland native Charles Marro was the longest tenured judge, serving first as bankruptcy referee in 1941 and later judge. He retired in 1985 but continued to hear cases. He was succeeded by Francis Conrad, who was not reappointed to another 14-year term on the bench. Brown was appointed to replace Conrad.

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