GIRARD Judge halts payment on justice center
He ordered payments stopped because the court wasn't told of a change in loan terms.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- Municipal Judge Michael Bernard has ordered the city to stop paying what he has determined to be the court's share of constructing the city justice center.
Mayor James Melfi said the judge's action taken Monday will result in more cuts in personnel and services.
The city has been under a state-imposed fiscal emergency because the city has defaulted on two state loans and some of its funds are operating in the red.
Order: In a July 2 court order, Judge Bernard placed the construction cost of the center at $4.5 million, with the court responsible for 35 percent, or about $1.6 million.
In that order, Judge Bernard said the court will pay $9,300 monthly toward a loan from Second National Bank of Warren. At the same time, he ordered the city to notify him of any changes in the terms of the loan.
On Nov. 26, the city's financial planning and supervision commission gave Nita Hendryx permission to get a lower interest rate for the loan. Hendryx was appointed city fiscal supervisor by the state auditor's office.
For three years, the city will pay 4.73 percent fixed, rather than 5.41 percent, a savings of $23,000, Hendryx said. The city originally borrowed $4.1 million.
In his latest order, the judge suspended the July 2 order, and thus the court's $9,300 monthly payment, because the judge wasn't notified the terms of the loan are changing.
Judge Bernard could not be reached for comment. He doesn't work Tuesdays, the clerk of courts' office said, and has an unlisted home telephone number.
'Turmoil': Melfi said the construction of the justice center that opened late last year "has placed the city in fiscal turmoil."
He reiterated the actual cost of the center is $5.2 million and the court uses more than 50 percent of the building space, not the 35 percent set by the judge.
"Now, he doesn't want to pay a penny for it," Melfi said.
The loss of nearly $120,000 annually the court is paying toward the cost of the center will result in city layoffs and cuts in service, Melfi said.
The police department is down four employees, the mayor said, and he will not replace a firefighter who will fill the now-vacant chief's position.
Asked what he will do to make up for the $120,000 loss per year, Melfi said that city council has control over the judge's budget.
The mayor and Councilman Renny Paolone, chairman of council's finance committee, have said that city council agreed to the construction of the center because council was told by the judge that the court would pay 50 percent of the cost.
Letter: On Tuesday, Melfi called attention to a Nov. 14, 2000, letter from the judge in which he wrote that the "court was constructed and furnished at no cost to the taxpayers of the city of Girard."
The mayor said the court costs the city's general fund $827,000 annually to operate. The court also has $725,000 in restricted funds that can be used only for specific purposes, such as computer purchases.
Melfi asserted that services to city residents will be cut.