Mobile County Commissioners Merceria Ludgood and Connie Hudson

Two Mobile County Commissioners expressed concerns Thursday about the mounting legal bills county taxpayers are having to foot to defend Probate Judge Don Davis' refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses.

The comments from Commissioners Merceria Ludgood and Connie Hudson came one day after Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordered state probate judges not to issue any marriage license contrary to the Alabama's law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. Davis, on Wednesday, followed Moore's edict and ceased issuing licenses for all marriages.

It was the first time commissioners have publicly spoken about the county's obligation to pay Davis' legal defense bills, which are estimated at more than $300,000 -- up from $200,000 last summer.

A sign posted on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016, at the Mobile County Probate Office. (Casey Toner/ctoner@al.com).

"The Supreme Court of the U.S. made a ruling on this and you have to wonder what the likelihood will be on the success of fighting this," Hudson said. "We don't want to end up with a pile of bills we have to pay and be in the same position we're in."

Added Ludgood: "Is there a point we need to make a reasonableness decision to continue to pay the fees? If the highest court in the land has made a decision, at what point does it become unreasonable for us to continue to pay the costs of fighting that?"

Mobile County has been a "Ground Zero" in the same-sex legal battle in Alabama that led to the June 26 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize gay and lesbian marriages nationwide.

Davis has been named in several lawsuits brought by gay couples who had been unable to obtain marriage licenses since the Alabama Supreme Court ordered them to follow state law. That ruling challenged the Jan. 23 decision by Mobile-based U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. "Ginny" Granade to declare the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional.

County Attorney Jay Ross said he will explore options to prevent the county's General Fund from having to continue with legal payouts.

"Generally speaking, the county is liable for the bills," Ross said, adding that he plans to examine whether the county can rely on an insurance bond to cover the costs.

Ross added, "It's very complicated and you have competing issues and orders. The probate judge is in a unique position. They respond to the Chief Justice so they are trying to work through those issues today."

Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore speaks to the congregation of Kimberly Church of God, Sunday, June 28, 2015, in Kimberley, Ala. Moore lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court decision which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, saying said the decision was against the laws of nature. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

But some probate judges are ignoring Moore's latest same-sex marriage proposal, saying that they are following federal law.

And the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama, in a memo to probate judges, instructed them to follow the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling and the Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange's opinion that "it's the law of the land." Two legal professors on Wednesday also said that probate judges going against federal law could find themselves facing lawsuits.

Mobile County is the last of Alabama's largest counties hedging against issuing licenses. Probate judges in Jefferson, Shelby and Montgomery counties say they are continuing to issue licenses to everyone.

In nearby Baldwin County, Probate Judge Tim Russell - who had previously denied issuing same-sex marriage licenses following Moore's concerns last year - said he's obeying the nation's highest court and continuing with the status quo.

"I have no choice but to follow the federal court order I'm under," he said. "My attorneys have advised me on that."

Russell said he anticipates his office could be busy with spillover from Mobile County residents seeking to get married.

"People can also go to Mississippi or Florida ... you don't have to be a citizen of the state to get a marriage license," Russell said. "We don't get all the Mobilians. But we think we'll get quite a few of those."