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Judge's fees for minor offenses hiked to pay for a new building
By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Sep 17, 2008
If you get a ticket for a minor traffic violation in northeast Summit County, you'll pay a lot more money than if you're caught elsewhere in the county.
Why? Because the judge who runs the municipal court in Cuyahoga Falls says his court needs the money — and because he can charge anything he wants.
Judge Kim Hoover is the driving force behind the Falls court, which has jurisdiction over 16 communities, including Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Silver Lake, Tallmadge, Hudson and Richfield.
The differences between his court and the others are dramatic. If, for example, you were cited for driving with an expired license tag, you would pay $87 in Barberton's municipal court, $99 in Akron and $230 in Cuyahoga Falls.
That strikes some people as unfair. Among them: the mayor of Cuyahoga Falls.
''The costs are out of control,'' says Don Robart. ''An illegal left turn on Howe Avenue — that doesn't exactly equate to the Oklahoma City bombing — will cost someone 150 bucks!''
The judge argues that we should be placing the financial burden on ''offenders'' rather than ''the innocent taxpayer.''
The implication, of course, is that anyone who shows up in a municipal court is a criminal.
Well, that would include the daughter of Cuyahoga Falls Law Director Virgil Arrington Jr., who recently had to fork out $144 for a routine speeding ticket.
As Falls Finance Director Joe Brodzinski points out, the people doing the heavy financial lifting are ''you and me.''
''You make that illegal left turn, but you don't see the sign until you're already out there. What are you going to do? Stop and back up? And you walk out the [courthouse] door at $150!''
So how can a court impose fees that the same city's executive branch thinks are
absurd? Easy. When it comes to court costs, judges have free rein.
Municipal courts like Hoover's have pushed their costs so high in recent years that they are displaying precisely the same dynamic that threatens to bring down mayor's courts: As a person sits in judgment of the accused, that same person has a vested interest in assessing penalties that produce money for projects and programs of his or her own choosing.
Building for the future
Last year, the Falls court raised $833,000 toward a new courthouse in Stow by charging every offender a $20 ''special projects'' fee.
That fee, established by Hoover in mid-2002, long ago paid the entire $1 million cost of acquiring a 9.3-acre parcel at state Route 8 and Steels Corners Road, where the new building will open by the first of the year.
The Falls court has cranked up other moneymaking machinery as well. It runs its own home-incarceration program and participates in a driver-intervention program it helped create — programs not traditionally run by the same people who sentence offenders to them.
In early 2004, when Hoover was making his sales pitch to Stow officials, he said the home-incarceration program soon would be making a ''profit'' of $10,000 a month. He told Stow the driver-intervention program he formed in Boston Heights with a Canton agency had the potential to clear $7,000 a month.
Most municipal court patrons don't get that far into the justice system. But every offender — and sometimes even those whose cases are dismissed — is hit with court costs.
A small percentage of the costs are mandated by the state: $15 to help pay for legal aid for the poor and $9 for a crime victims fund. And, starting Oct. 1, you'll pay $15 more for a drug-law enforcement fund.
Why someone who gets a traffic ticket should pay for those kinds of things is a topic worthy of future discussion. But the point here is this: The bulk of the costs in the Falls are charged simply because a local court can charge whatever it wants.
Change coming
Fortunately, that might be changing.
A panel of state legislators, judges, lawyers and others recently finished a study of court costs and filing fees and came to the same conclusion as the Falls mayor: Costs are out of control.
The first of 11 recommendations reads: ''Court costs should be reasonable, nominal and directly related to the operation and maintenance of the court.''
The panel said that costs and fees ''cannot and should not be considered 'income' to a court. Any requirement for a court to fund itself through the levying of fines, fees or costs to operate can only encourage corruption.''
Panelists actually recommended raising some fees, including the $10 maximum a court is allowed to charge to fund computerization of the clerk's office, as well as some probate fees. But at least those things go directly toward the day-to-day operation of the court.
Recommendation No. 6 is particularly noteworthy: ''The General Assembly [should] amend the statutes to clarify what these 'special project' funds can be used for. In some cases, courts use their funds to . . . [offset] the cost of courthouse construction or renovation.
''It should be made clear that these funds are not intended to completely fund the construction . . . of court facilities, nor serve as a permanent substitute for general funding'' — exactly what's going on in the Falls.
The judge explains
Hoover understands the anger over high costs, but says he had to find a way to fund his operation and build a courthouse.
As he points out, the state Supreme Court, the court of appeals and common pleas courts all are funded by the county and state. Municipal courts must rely on an odd combination of funding that includes contributions from the municipalities over which they have jurisdiction.
Each community is given the fine money from tickets written in that community. But each community's financial obligation to the court's operation is based on the number of cases it filed the previous year. And if the court runs in the red, each community must repay all or some of the fine money it has received.
Sometimes, as was the case last year, fines and costs don't cover the operating expenses, even after the communities kick back all of their fine money. In that case, the court's home city must eat the overrun.
In 2007, the Falls court's deficit was about $782,000. After the other cities and towns sent back their fine money, the Falls still had to swallow about $117,000.
Hoover insists that if costs are reduced to a ''nominal'' level, taxes would have to be higher. ''There's no such thing as a free lunch,'' he says.
Another option, of course, is cutting costs.
Says Robart, ''The courts spend money like drunken sailors.''
His finance department says total expenditures by the court rose from $946,000 in 2000 to $1.5 million in 2007, an increase of nearly 60 percent. By comparison, the city's general fund expenditures rose 20 percent.
The city points out that the court's caseload is down from its peak in 1993.
The court counters by saying its two judges (the other is Lisa Coates) and their staffs are doing far more work than was done a decade ago, such as running more elaborate probation programs.
But Brodzinski, the Falls finance director, doesn't have much sympathy.
''Every department in the city of Cuyahoga Falls is doing more than it did 10 years ago,'' he says. ''My [information services] director has now taken on two more hats. The parks and rec supervisor is doing the same thing. That's just the times we're in.''
Next year, all of this will be in Stow's lap. And as you will see in my next column, that could create quite a problem financially — not only for Stow, but for all the other communities as well.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
If you get a ticket for a minor traffic violation in northeast Summit County, you'll pay a lot more money than if you're caught elsewhere in the county.
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
medina, oh
Posted 07:44 AM, 09/17/2008
Cuyahoga Falls and Summit County ticket offenders: 1. Slow down and obey traffic laws! 2. Remember this when Kim Hoover goes for re-election!
Akron, OH
Posted 08:13 AM, 09/17/2008
Another award winnin' article from Akron's own award winnin' traffic reporter.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:54 AM, 09/17/2008
The judicial division of government, both locally and nationally, needs to be reigned in. They have become a law unto themselves, overriding the rights and will of We the People. Time to clean house.
Posted 08:56 AM, 09/17/2008
the falls mayor is mad because all the money and most of all the power will go to stow,as this fight goes on we will all pay,what will become of the name ticket city we all have to live with
Posted 10:58 AM, 09/17/2008
As the article points out - the fiscal problems of this court will soon fall to the City of Stow. Let Mayor Robart be angry - and in the end - if this court is instructed to reduce its costs - Mayor Robart will have one less headache to worry about and perhaps will have the last laugh!
Akron, OH
Posted 01:09 PM, 09/17/2008
Four posts? That's all, Bobbo? Everyoine's over at topix.com for the real discussion on it.
Akron, Oh
Posted 01:58 PM, 09/17/2008
FINALLY this has been brought to light! I've known this for years. I have sat in the courts out of curiosity and watched them slap hefty fines on working citizens and slap the wrists of the thieves and watched them laugh about it in the hallway. The Judge knows there is no money to be made off of the real criminals. It sickens me!!! And the DUI program-I KNEW that was just a big money maker when a friend of mine went there. Almost $400 mandatory to attend and they just sit around watching videos and listening to MADD. I was told about the conversations that went on in there and some of the offenders didnt even blow the limit, they were just considered "impaired". What the cops saw was "ching ching" and a bozo button from the Judge. You can Wipe the brown off of your nose now rookie. THANK YOU Bob Dyer for printing this article! I was shocked to find out that the Mayor didnt know what was going on. How can this little town afford the fountain and stage at Riverfront and a new Natatorium and WAY too many cops doing nothing but sitting on corners giving out tickets. The working folks of this town have been paying for it! We bought it whether we liked it or not. That judge is a corrupt individual with his cronies doing his dirty work. He should be FIRED and then given a ticket!
Akron, Oh
Posted 02:10 PM, 09/17/2008
WOW, they removed my entire comment! So much for freedom of speech!
Posted 03:04 PM, 09/17/2008
All I can say is.. Im not suprised. This just goes to show that the courts are looking for their next payday at the expense of the public.
Posted 03:38 PM, 09/17/2008
Congratulations to all of you Cuyahoga Falls voters who chose to re-elect Judge Kim Hoover. This is your reward. Next time try voting on issues and performance rather than a person's party affiliation. Just beacause a person is a Republican or Democrat doesn't mean they are the best candidate for the job. Same goes for electing the next president. Don't vote solely oon abortion or gun rights, there are many other things to consider
Posted 04:06 PM, 09/17/2008
Yes - Congratulations to all of you voters who chose to re-elect Judge Kim Hoover. Finally, an innovative way to fund a desperately needed new courthouse without raising taxes like all the other politicians. Bravo Judge . . We love ya!
Akron, Oh
Posted 12:07 PM, 09/19/2008
Cindy: You're kidding right?
