Decatur’s city commission votes next week on the 2015-16 budget, which includes a proposed streamlining of the municipal court.
The court currently has four regular judges and two substitutes appointed annually. Each regular judge is assigned one day per week, Monday through Thursday, while rotating occasional Saturdays, for a total three-to-five hours work week. Staff recommendation is to appoint one chief judge who’ll attend all hearings, for 20-to-25 hours weekly, plus two alternates.
This would save the city $25,000 annually although that’s not the impetus behind reorganizing, said Assistant City Manager Andrea Arnold.
“Right now we have four different courts with four different sets of paperwork,” she said. “We want a consistency in paperwork, processing and procedure. This is about operating more effectively.”
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