Jury is still out on mayor’s courts

By MARGIE TRAX PAGE - Staff Writer - mtrax@starbeacon.com

December 04, 2008 12:52 am

— Pinching pennies down to the end of the 2008 fiscal year, Geneva-on-the-Lake Mayor David Nelson has worried about road salt, law-enforcement emergency radio upgrades and countless administrative details.
Now, Nelson’s brow is creased over Ohio House Bill 154, which threatens to shut down mayor’s courts in towns with fewer than 1,600 people. The village is 50 people short.
“The loss of our mayor’s court would cost the village $35,000 in revenue from fines,” Nelson said. “Then add in the burden of sending our police officers to court in another town. There is nothing positive about losing our court.”
Many small towns and villages operate mayor’s courts. In Ohio, mayors of municipal corporations hear cases involving violations of local ordinances and some traffic violations.
There were 336 mayor’s courts in the state, according to the 2005 Ohio Supreme Court summary. At least 104 of those courts serve municipalities with populations of fewer than 1,000 people. Locally, North Kingsville, Andover and Geneva-on-the-Lake’s small-town courts are threatened by House Bill 154, which would dissolve the courts as of Jan. 1, 2009. Mayor’s court cases would be ordered to either a municipal court or county court, according to the bill.
North Kingsville Mayor Terry McConnell said the loss of the village’s court would cost as much as $60,000 a year in revenue, a loss the little municipality could not absorb.
“House Bill 154 is a huge problem for us,” McConnell said. “Not only would it steal dollars from our police force, but it would further burden the county court system.”
With 2,700 residents, North Kingsville could retain a local court, but at a cost.
“We would have to hire a magistrate,” McConnell said.
Geneva-on-the-Lake Councilman Don “Woody” Woodward traveled to Columbus this week to discuss, among other issues, the effect of House Bill 154 to the village coffers.
Woodward said he sees some hope for mayor’s courts, after all.
“On the (Ohio) Senate side, I met with (State) Sen. Timothy Grendall, (D-Chesterland),” Woodward said. “He was dead set against (House Bill 154) and was convinced that it was dead when it comes to the senate.”
Woodward said he believes House Bill 154 will be pulled in favor of House Bill 663, which uses most of House Bill 154’s text but upholds small-town mayor’s courts. House Bill 663 has been “fast tracked” and will be presented to the Ohio House of Representatives this week, State Rep. Deborah Newcomb’s office reports.
“So right now, so far, so good,” Woodward said. “We get lucky sometimes.”