The Romeo Observer - Romeo, Michigan: Northern Macomb County's weekly newspaper since 1866

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CURTIS OSTRANDER	DUAINE HARDING
ELEANOR TODD	ELMER "BUD" HAHN
GERVASE KILEY	MARGARET ZIEMAN
MARIAN SUTTON	ORLO KIRKUM
SLAVA KOKOTOVICH
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POSSIBLE RELOCATION. Above is the 42-1 District Court, located on 33 Mile Road. A multi-million dollar county deficit has the Board of Commissioners considering ending a subsidy that supports the 42nd district courts. If this occurs, commissioners said the Romeo court could be moved to New Baltimore.

(Observer photo by Chris Gray)

$1.4 million cut could
close 42-1 District Court

by CHRIS GRAY
Observer Staff Writer

      The 42-1 District Court could be closed and moved to New Baltimore if a $1.4 million county subsidy is cut, but one county commissioner says it will never happen.
       In facing a $23.4 million deficit for the upcoming year, the Board of Commissioners is examining a plan that would eliminate funding to the 42nd District Courts, located in Romeo and New Baltimore.
       The proposal could merge the two courts into one, with the possibility of closing the Romeo location, said Dist. 14 County Commissioner Brian Brdak, the board's budget committee chairperson.
       Brdak said cutting the $1.4 million funding for the courts is just one option the commission is exploring during tough economic times.
       "For the last five years, both the New Baltimore and Romeo courts have increasingly cost the county more money," he said. "From a fairness standpoint, if, for example, you're a resident in Clinton Township, your tax dollars go toward supporting those courts."
       The 42nd District Courts are the only courts in Macomb County supported primarily by county funds. Others are funded through a city or township, and retain all the fees that they charge defendants.
       This causes the courts to be "unfunded mandates" by the state, meaning that the state requires them, but doesn't provide financial support.
       Romeo court's gross revenue is $1,465,725, but $470,000 of that is directly siphoned to state and local municipalities, causing the court to appear in the red ink.
       The court's 2010 budget is at $1,085,593. If the $1.4 million cut goes through and is spread between the two courts, it would equate to a 64.5 percent budget cut for Romeo's court.
       Brdak said the cut isn't set in stone, and the commissioners are looking at approaching state legislators to change the statute on how the courts are funded so they can become self-sufficient.
       "It may come to fruition that we can't do this, and if so we'll have to find another place to find the $1.4 million," he said.
       Dist. 13 Commissioner Don Brown said he doesn't expect the court building to close, not only because courts are mandated, but for political reasons.
       "They need to change state law to make that happen, and the politics of it is that will never happen, because they'll never do it in a year's time," he said. "That court is going to be open for business."
       He agrees that state law should be changed, but said he would make the case to the commissioners that cuts to the Sheriff's Office have reduced the number of road patrols in the area, meaning less offenders are caught and brought to the courts.
       Judge Denis LeDuc of the 42-1 District Court said he and his staff understand the county and state is in a major economic crisis, but believes the cut is unrealistic.
       "Our ability to fulfill our statutory and constitutional duties would certainly be in danger, as well as our ability to generate revenue," he said.
       He said the court has taken pro-active steps to keeping costs down and generating revenue over the years, such as alleviating the overcrowding of jails by reducing its average weekly prisoner number from 40 to 25 by releasing them with conditional provisions.
       It costs the county $80 a day per prisoner, which means the Romeo court is saving the county about $438,000 annually.
       LeDuc said moving the 42-1 District Court to the New Baltimore courthouse would put a strain on both residents and the county. He said there could be extra costs in mothballing the closed building as well as making modifications to the New Baltimore facility.
       "While the New Baltimore building is much newer and has an extra court room, it really isn't designed for two entire courts, nor, in my opinion, do I think it could handle the additional parking," he said.
       The cut would affect local law enforcement as well by increasing travel time. The Romeo Police Department utilizes the 42-1 court for presenting paperwork or swearing out arrest warrants.
       Police Chief Greg Paduch said if the courts merged it would mean his officers' drives would increase from a four-mile round trip to 44 miles, putting a bigger strain on the village's budget.
       "You'd have to look at the annual costs of fuel usage, vehicle maintenance and wear-and-tear," he said. "Plus, it's about an hour-and-a-half to two-hour drive, so that is time the officer wouldn't be out on patrol."