The Ghost of Tom Willi comes to visit.
County wants to waste huge amount for THREE TRIALS a year.
- Naked Conch - Posted by Matt Gardi - Jan 15, 2012
Call me scrooge, but I find myself pinching public pennies a bit more than usual lately. Oddly, my frugality seems to find a harmony with a chord played by former Monroe County Manager Tom Willi back in 2007.
Willi had floated the idea of closing the Marathon Court House but the issue was quickly shut down by the likes of Judges Ruth Becker and Sandra Taylor coupled with no support from the County Commission.
In our recent foray into squandering public funds to appease a few select members of our Keys community, while renovating the current Marathon Courthouse we have learned that along with asbestos, we now have mold in the building. This has prompted Commissioner George Neugent to call for the demolition of the building, as he suggested it might be better to find a way to build a new municipal center with the help of the City of Marathon. You can read about it here in the Keynoter online.
It's hard not to like George Neugent, because he does seem to think a bit outside the box and always tends to keep an eye on the bottom line. But let's dig a little deeper and see if we can consider some other alternatives that might just take it a step further. Let's summon the ghost of Tom Willi, shall we.
First, in the Keynoter article, Ryan McCarthy exposes the fact that Judge Becker held a grand total of THREE trials in 2011. One of the needs that justify a new Courthouse is the challenges that go along with holding trials, and conducting jury selection. I'll also concede that it wouldn't be the most popular thing to tell Marathon residents that they might have to drive to Key West or Plantation Key to take care of their Court related needs.
But let's look at some other factors. Currently, challenges like first appearances happen from Judge Fowler's Courtroom in Key West via video conferencing to the jail. Could we possibly hold some or most of the less significant hearings via teleconference from a smaller existing facility in Marathon? Perhaps a facility such as the Sheriff's Hanger, or that beautiful conference room at Mosquito Control might offer just such a location. Also, isn't the state moving to e-filing with the Clerk's Office, won't the need to actually show up in Court be reduced dramatically with the implementation of advanced technologies in the near term? Haven't the Courts implemented the use of Court Call allowing for appearances by telephone on a greater scale?
Beyond the capital outlay to construct a Courthouse, we must remember that there are other costs associated with ongoing support. The facility will require maintenance and cleaning, along with the cost of utilities. Labor costs associated with security must be considered. Also, the County pays close to $100,000 in rent annually to maintain offices for the State Attorney and Public Defender. Much of this could be consolidated, reduced and eliminated if we made better use of our existing County facilities in Marathon, and Court facilities in Key West and Plantation Key. Even the Clerk's Office might be able to be consolidated. As it is staff at the Clerk's Office and the State Attorney's Office in Marathon are exchanging a vast majority of their documents electronically now, they never even leave their desks. Does it matter where those desks are?
Instead of spending resources on new construction, we should be leveraging technology, and utilizing or enhancing existing facilities in Marathon to accommodate for the less vital Court related activities. Then, for those THREE trials a year, we can suffer the inconvenience of holding them in Key West or Plantation Key. Who knows, maybe we can even reduce the expense of one Judge and their support staff in the 16th Judicial Circuit as well? Any takers on how their caseloads compare to Statewide averages?
We'll leave that for another post... ;).
County wants to waste huge amount for THREE TRIALS a year.
- Naked Conch - Posted by Matt Gardi - Jan 15, 2012
Call me scrooge, but I find myself pinching public pennies a bit more than usual lately. Oddly, my frugality seems to find a harmony with a chord played by former Monroe County Manager Tom Willi back in 2007.
Willi had floated the idea of closing the Marathon Court House but the issue was quickly shut down by the likes of Judges Ruth Becker and Sandra Taylor coupled with no support from the County Commission.
In our recent foray into squandering public funds to appease a few select members of our Keys community, while renovating the current Marathon Courthouse we have learned that along with asbestos, we now have mold in the building. This has prompted Commissioner George Neugent to call for the demolition of the building, as he suggested it might be better to find a way to build a new municipal center with the help of the City of Marathon. You can read about it here in the Keynoter online.
It's hard not to like George Neugent, because he does seem to think a bit outside the box and always tends to keep an eye on the bottom line. But let's dig a little deeper and see if we can consider some other alternatives that might just take it a step further. Let's summon the ghost of Tom Willi, shall we.
First, in the Keynoter article, Ryan McCarthy exposes the fact that Judge Becker held a grand total of THREE trials in 2011. One of the needs that justify a new Courthouse is the challenges that go along with holding trials, and conducting jury selection. I'll also concede that it wouldn't be the most popular thing to tell Marathon residents that they might have to drive to Key West or Plantation Key to take care of their Court related needs.
But let's look at some other factors. Currently, challenges like first appearances happen from Judge Fowler's Courtroom in Key West via video conferencing to the jail. Could we possibly hold some or most of the less significant hearings via teleconference from a smaller existing facility in Marathon? Perhaps a facility such as the Sheriff's Hanger, or that beautiful conference room at Mosquito Control might offer just such a location. Also, isn't the state moving to e-filing with the Clerk's Office, won't the need to actually show up in Court be reduced dramatically with the implementation of advanced technologies in the near term? Haven't the Courts implemented the use of Court Call allowing for appearances by telephone on a greater scale?
Beyond the capital outlay to construct a Courthouse, we must remember that there are other costs associated with ongoing support. The facility will require maintenance and cleaning, along with the cost of utilities. Labor costs associated with security must be considered. Also, the County pays close to $100,000 in rent annually to maintain offices for the State Attorney and Public Defender. Much of this could be consolidated, reduced and eliminated if we made better use of our existing County facilities in Marathon, and Court facilities in Key West and Plantation Key. Even the Clerk's Office might be able to be consolidated. As it is staff at the Clerk's Office and the State Attorney's Office in Marathon are exchanging a vast majority of their documents electronically now, they never even leave their desks. Does it matter where those desks are?
Instead of spending resources on new construction, we should be leveraging technology, and utilizing or enhancing existing facilities in Marathon to accommodate for the less vital Court related activities. Then, for those THREE trials a year, we can suffer the inconvenience of holding them in Key West or Plantation Key. Who knows, maybe we can even reduce the expense of one Judge and their support staff in the 16th Judicial Circuit as well? Any takers on how their caseloads compare to Statewide averages?
We'll leave that for another post... ;).
Excellent insight into how technology can play a vital role in improving the delivery of government services. The City of Key West is behind the curve on this, despite its efforts with the city web site and Legistar.
ReplyDeleteBut (there's always a but), we must wary of the efforts of corporations and governments to limit citizen access to information, whether in paper records or electronic databases. STOP and PIPA are but the first steps toward that end. Resist!
Stop SOPA and PIPA
and Mike's guest post here:
<a href="http://nakedconch.blogspot.com/2012/01/guest-post-stop-sopa.html>Guest Post</a>
I have similar thoughts about technology enabling the city of Key West to greatly downscale its plans for a new city hall.