Courts may consolidate
• Belmont County officials put plan in motionBy ERIC AYRES, Times Leader News Editor
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE - Belmont County officials are seriously considering the consolidation of county divisional courts.
The move is being pondered as a new court facility is being constructed in Bellaire and Eastern Division Court Judge William Davis is planning to retire at year's end.
Belmont County Commissioners met with Northern Division Court Judge Frank Fregiato and that court's head Clerk Donna Cottage, and Western Division Court Judge Harry White and head Clerk Rosalee Ralston, on Thursday afternoon to discuss this possible move.
A new Eastern Division Court facility is currently under construction in Bellaire and is expected to be completed in May. With Judge Davis expected to retire on Dec. 31, county leaders are putting the wheels in motion to have the three county divisional courts consolidated into two courts.
The possible consolidation would result in the formation of one court to handle cases along Belmont County's riverfront communities and another to handle the western portion of the county.
Although the consolidation would call for revised jurisdictional territories for each court, Judge Fregiato would continue to handle the riverfront and Judge White would continue to preside over cases in the western areas.
The Western Division Court is currently housed in the Courthouse Annex building on Main Street in St. Clairsville. Plans have been in the works for a while to eventually move the court to another location as well, allowing the county prosecutor's office to occupy the entire annex building.
"We still have to entertain the thoughts of the bar association and the prosecutor's office," Commissioner Ginny Favede said regarding the possible consolidation of the county courts.
The proposed consolidation would result in a direct cost saving in terms of reducing a county court judge. The county pays the divisional county court judges $37,500 plus benefits. The receive an additional $30,150 from the state. Those amounts are set by statute and are dictated by the overall population of the county.
The county court judge position is considered a part-time job, and seated judges are permitted to still hold private practices.
Favede said the commissioners met recently with a representative of the Ohio Supreme Court and discussed the opportunity to consolidate, create costs savings and improve efficiency. She said that although county courts throughout Ohio are set up differently, legislative action would still be required in order to eliminate one of the county court judge positions.
Fregiato said there is technically only one county level court in Belmont County, it is just currently set up in three divisions.
While the judge would take on additional cases, the consistent caseload in the county would call for the staff members to all be retained, officials said.
Fregiato has proposed that a part-time magistrate be hired to help handle the case load. The judge said that even if a magistrate worked one day a week for each of the two courts, it would help tremendously and still create a significant savings for the county coffers.
Last year, the clerk of the Eastern Division Court retired and since then, the head clerks of the Western and Northern Division Courts have been stepping in to perform duties at the Eastern Court, which in itself was a preliminary step toward consolidation, officials indicated.
Fregiato said the clerks have already explored the possible redistricting of the county courts' jurisdictions if they are consolidated into two divisions.
Although the discussions about consolidation are still in the preliminary stages, Thursday's meeting was meant to get the county officials and the affected judges on the same page and working together.
"I'm very appreciative of the joint cooperation," said Fregiato. "I think we're moving forward in the right direction."
If the move happens, there is a strong possibility that the current Northern Division Court site in Martins Ferry would be vacated and the riverfront court relocated to the new facility in Bellaire. A physical relocation could take place before Davis retires at the end of December, allowing both courts to share the space in the new building as a transition takes place.
"We have a very good working relationship among the judges here in Belmont County," Fregiato said. "It's really a good thing, because you don't necessarily see that in other areas like in and around the bigger cities."
Commissioner Chuck Probst said that if the Northern Division Court moves out of the Martins Ferry building, another county agency would be able to relocate there, sharing that county-owned building with the Connection's One-Stop center. While the specific agency is still being discussed, officials said county agencies could still pay rent for use of the site, which would generate revenue.
Over the past several years, Belmont County officials have been looking to streamline the use of county facilities and eventually eliminate the need for paying rent for space.
Officials noted that the planned relocation of the Belmont County Department of Job and Family Services offices to the former Habilitation Center off Hammond Road is being reevaluated. Commissioners said officials are examining the finances of the BCDJFS, which has suffered significant cuts recently, in terms of its ability to help pay for planned renovations of the Hab Center. Design work has already been completed for the renovations.
The original plans called for the BCDJFS to relocate all of its offices into a renovated Hab Center, allowing the agency's Fox Shannon facility to be occupied by the Western Division Court, a title office and possibly the Belmont County Board of Elections. Everything is currently being re-examined, officials said.
"It's all about reducing overhead and making the county more efficient," said Favede.
"We have to take the most cost-effective avenue we can," said Probst. "We're continuing to look at different avenues. Regardless of what happens, there will be a new home for Western Division Court in the future."
Also Thursday, Fregiato took time to make suggestions about the designs for the new Eastern Division Court. The judge visited the new facility recently and said he was impressed with the new court. Fregiato made suggestions for minor adjustments that would help improve access inside the chambers for any judge who may preside there.
"Things are coming along very nicely," Commissioner Matt Coffland said of the Eastern Division Court construction, who noted that the suggested modifications can be done before the project comes to completion.
Ayres can be reached at eayres@timesleaderonline.com.
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ValleySenior
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03-06-10 4:08 PM
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Let us forget about peronalities here. All three judges are honorable people. At issue here is cost savings. If consolidation is the solution, why must there be a new building. The riverfront courts could be consolidated into the Northern Division. This facility was recently built to meet the judicial requirements. The County Commissioners need to note they are becoming Belmont County's largest property owner. Their ownership does not create a new tax base for the county, only addtional overhead to be supported by shrinking future tax revenues. With two new commissioners, it was hoped a bit more business savy would be in place.
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OhValleyGuy
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03-05-10 6:52 PM
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I appreciate judges Harry White and D. William Davis. Both of them seem to be stand up guys and don't seem like self-important politicians first, and judges second.
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cory1978
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03-05-10 2:35 PM
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Fregiato is a pompus bum that takes delight from others failures. Hang Em Harry White is a much more honest man in my mind. I mean for goodness sakes look at Fregiato....taylored pin striped suit with cufflinks and slicked back hair??? He could pass for a member of the Gambino Crime Family.
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susanTtalker
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03-05-10 10:24 AM
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Who is "Judge While?"
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rearden
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03-05-10 9:49 AM
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Talk about vanity. What an ass. "And thus I clothe my naked villany With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ, And seem a saint, when most I play the devil."
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