Shared Municipal Court Plan 'Not Cost Effective'

Despite a hope for shared services and lowered costs, a proposal for shared municipal court between Bedminster and Bernards recently fell through after it was determined that the savings would not be beneficial to either township.

Bernards Township Committeeman John Carpenter, the township's police commissioner, said the idea of looking into a joint municipal court arose earlier this year when Bernards Township Administrator Bruce McArthur was compiling the 2012 budget, and looking for ways to save money.

"We decided to pursue it," Carpenter said.

According to Bedminster Township Administrator Judy Sullivan, she was contacted by the MacArthur about the possibility of shared services.

“The court administrator [in Bernards] is retiring at the end of 2012, and our two towns shared the same professionals, like prosecutor and public defender,” she said. “And two of the Bernards Township court employees currently work part time for Bedminster.”

Also, Sullivan said, the municipal judge’s term in Bernards ends in March 2013.

“We thought we should discuss the potential shared service,” she said.

If it had worked, Sullivan said, the two townships would have had a shared court, where all employees would work for Bedminster and court fees would be split between the two towns.

“And there would be a separate court session for each town,” she said. “We would share a judge, prosecutor and public defender.”

All of the costs, Sullivan said, would have been based on size, and Bernards was prepared to pay Bedminster a hosting fee for the building.

“Or, we could have a joint court where everything is combined but the governor then appoints the judge,” she said. “Only preliminary discussions on these topics were held.”

In Bernards Township currently, court is held on Tuesday mornings in a room that also serves as the main meeting room at the municipal complex.

If the shared service had worked, Carpenter said, Bernards Township officers would have had to travel to Bedminster for court cases, sometimes leaving their patrol within the township.

Unfortunately, Sullivan said, the plan for any kind of shared service at this time fell through after discussions with the Administrative Office of the Courts, which determined that staffing levels were still required to stay the same even if they had a joint court.

“That cut into potential savings from a retirement,” she said. “Bernards decided to settle with the savings from the retirement and potentially negotiate other cost savings with professionals and staff.”

Carpenter said that McArthur's analysis did not show significant cost savings.

Bernards Township Mayor Mary Pavlini said the court costs for some of the smaller towns are very high, and the best potential for savings seemed to be with Bedminster. But she said she agreed that McArthur's analysis showed the partnership would not be cost effective.

Although this plan fell through, Sullivan said, Bedminster Township is still looking into options for shared services. She said they recently held a Shared Services Summit with representatives from all the Somerset Hills towns to discuss the possibility of shared services at all levels, including courts, recreation, code enforcement and senior transportation.

“Bedminster would like to explore a shared court with any of the Somerset Hills towns,” Sullivan said.