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How did the court make more than $5M for city? Judge outlines figures over 50-year timeline

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By TODD HELBERG

cnedit@crescent-news.com

Last week Defiance Municipal Court Judge John Rohrs III said that his court has generated more than $5 million for City Hall over a 50-year period.

The comment was made Tuesday during Defiance City Council's discussion about the new municipal court project.

But Rohrs' figure was not just a number out of thin air, at least according to records the court has been keeping. Since the court's establishment in 1958, officials say it has provided an "operation gain" of $5,177,260 to the city.

This is figured by subtracting the city's share of municipal court expenses from what the court returns to City Hall in collected fines, fees and costs.

According to the court's annual report, it provided a net gain of $159,679 to the city in 2008. (In addition, the report stated net

gains of $381,887 to the state, $105,754 to the county and $49,872 to Hicksville village last year.)

The annual report lists disbursements of $762,814 to the city while the city's share of expenses was $603,135. (The report says the state had no expenses to run the court and received $381,887 back while the county had $111,933 in court expenses and received $217,688. Hicksville received $52,613 from the court against expenses of $2,741.)

A 50-year record provided by the court shows the city receiving operation gains of more than $200,000 annually from 1995-2003 before the amount slipped to $34,764 in 2004. It then rose to $85,949 in 2005, $109,145 in 2006 and $144,081 in 2007.

"We are not here to make money," said Rohrs, "but it turns out to be that way if you run it right. We are not costing the city money from our salaries or anything of that nature. We are turning money back to them."

However, there are other costs that are related to municipal court.

For example, a $443,000 "prisoner and jail maintenance" line item in the city police department's 2009 budget represents the city's contribution to operate the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio (CCNO). Some of the inmates who help fill Defiance County's 62 beds at CCNO are sent there by Rohrs.

On the other hand, the judge orders some of those defendants to pay for their stay at CCNO, which helps offset the cost. (Defendants sentenced to mandatory jail terms are among those ordered to pay jail fees.)

According to the court's annual report, $120,979 in jail fees were collected from defendants in 2008. This doesn't represent everything that is owed, but "we try to get as much as we can," said municipal court Clerk Julie Fitzenrider.

Those who can't repay their jail expenses (tabulated at $71 per day) -- and those who may have unpaid fines and court costs -- also provide a cheap source of labor for city and county governments. According to Rohrs, inmates are given credit for $50 off their outstanding fines, costs and jail fees for every eight hours of work.

This can help defray costs for some city general fund departments, or make up for positions that were cut from the budget.

For example, the city has used many CCNO inmates to provide mowing and other help at Riverside Cemetery, compensating for a reduction in part-time seasonal workers. Earlier this year, council cut several part-time positions due to shrinking income tax revenues.

"The city parks and cemetery (departments) have assigned a lot of people there," said Fitzenrider.

Last year alone, CCNO inmates provided 3,518 hours of community service work to a variety of governments and agencies, the annual report stated. Defiance County Environmental Services used the largest share with 2,100 hours.

The amount of community service hours this year has already topped last year's. According to court records, more than 4,700 hours have been provided so far.

"This year we are off the charts, in part because of the economy," Rohrs said. "A lot of people are saying, 'I can't pay,' so I say, while you're looking (for a job), let's do the community service. So, our community service is going to be really high."

Municipal court is also generating funds for the new building it will eventually occupy at the former Slocum Elementary School site at Thurston and Perry streets. Bids are expected to be advertised yet this summer for the project, with completion next year.

A $15 assessment on each case that comes through municipal court goes into a special projects fund that can be used at the judge's discretion.

While the money is used upon the judge's order, funds are handled by the city. According to city finance director John Seele, the fund totaled $567,000 at the end of April and generates about $160,000 annually.

This revenue source is expected to generate the majority of funds for the municipal court building project. The cost is estimated at as much as $6.5 million.

Last year, $44,026 was spent from the special project's fund, Seele said, while $132,205 has been expended this year on the new court and there is another $173,328 in purchase orders.

These preliminary expenditures have covered engineering and design of the new building.

City Hall's contribution to the project will come from its capital improvements budget. But the amount depends upon construction bids for the new building.

Some city officials want council to appropriate significant amounts of capital improvement dollars in the first few years before project costs are bonded over 20 years or more. Their hope is that the court's special projects fund would then cover the annual debt service during the bonded period.

The county's costs to operate municipal court -- which handles all misdemeanor traffic and criminal cases filed in Defiance County -- are minimal.

County commissioners pay a portion of salaries and benefits for the court's judge, clerk and bailiff. This amounted to $92,661 in 2008. (The county has another $19,271 in operating expenses, mostly for indigent defendants.)

The county is not being asked to make a contribution toward the court project as state law makes it the city's responsibility to provide the municipal court with a building.