Commission should answer three Municipal Court questions

The move to eliminate Macon-Bibb County’s Municipal Court and have its work assumed by State Court hit another confusing stretch when state Sen. John F. Kennedy was inserted in the mix. Sometimes when a state lawmaker gets involved in a local issue it’s not a good thing. He or she is either uninvited or hasn’t consulted with members of local government — sometimes both — about a bill that will have a direct impact on them.

Kennedy, however, didn’t just strike out on his own to craft Senate Bill 283. Apparently he was nudged by some local officials. The mayor’s spokesman Chris Floore, said the mayor floated the idea with state lawmakers, and according to a Thursday press release from State Court, it had input into Kennedy’s legislation. However, the commission was caught flat-footed by Kennedy’s bill.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission has been sitting on the idea of eliminating Municipal Court since last year. And it’s no secret the commission is looking to cut costs. The mayor believes combining the courts would save money. Back in October When the idea first surfaced, Municipal Court’s only full time Judge Bobby Faulkner said, “I’m not saying that it’s a good idea, I’m not saying it’s a bad idea, but at this point and time I can’t endorse it. It’s a big deal. There are a lot of people that could lose their jobs.”

SB 283’s language is simple. It amends Section 7 of Ga. L. 2012, p. 5595.

(a) The Municipal Court of Macon-Bibb County is hereby dissolved, and those matters over which said court has jurisdiction on June 30, 2017, shall on and after July 1, 2017, have proper jurisdiction as provided in this section.

(b) Matters involving misdemeanor criminal violations, including misdemeanor criminal violations of ordinances of Macon-Bibb County, and matters involving abatement of nuisances occurring in Macon-Bibb County shall have jurisdiction in the State Court of Bibb County.

(c) Matters for which the State Court of Bibb County does not have proper jurisdiction shall have jurisdiction in the Magistrate Court of Macon-Bibb County.

State Court Judge Bill Adams says money would be saved in at least three areas: Space, cases could be handled in a third courtroom built during courthouse renovations; security, the sheriff’s office would not have to provide additional security at the government center; personnel, a part-time judge would be hired and the three deputy Municipal Court clerk positions would fall under State Court to handle the additional workload.

While a decison such as this should be data driven, this process has been snake-bit from the beginning. Last October, Judge Faulkner was blindsided by the idea that his court was being seriously considered and studied by State Court personnel for elimination. And he said as much when the proposal was official presented to the Macon-Bibb County Commission in December where it was tabled on a 5-4 vote.

Now comes this effort by state lawmakers and right out of the box, one of the co-sponsors, state Sen. David Lucas said he signed onto the bill by mistake and has taken his signature off the bill. The other co-sponsor, Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, doesn’t have a horse in this fight and only signed on because Kennedy and Lucas agreed on the measure. Now his support is in question. And there are now members of the commission looking at the mayor and Judge Adams sideways over the legislative screen play.

Yes, the process has unnecessarily hurt some feelings, but the bottom line hasn’t changed. Will eliminating Municipal Court save taxpayer money, in the short and long term? Can State Court handle the increased workload? Will the remaining court be more efficient for the citizens of Macon-Bibb County? If the answer to those three questions can be affirmatively answered, it’s not up to our state lawmakers to make this decision. It’s up to our county commissioners to put their feelings aside and be fiscally responsible.

This story was originally published March 16, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Commission should answer three Municipal Court questions."