Shrinking court fund sparks arguments

Officials had voted to cut monthly spending by more than half.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
GIRARD -- City and state officials have determined that the Girard Municipal Court will be out of funds to operate by September.
Members of the state Fiscal Oversight Commission, put in place to oversee spending while the city is in fiscal emergency, said the court has only $158,372 remaining of its original $600,000 appropriation for the year. They said the court is spending an average of $73,000 a month and will not have enough cash to get through September.
"[The judge] will make it through July, no problem. He may even make it through August, but he will not make it through September. Sometime in late August or early September his appropriations will run out," said Auditor Sam Zirafi.
Councilman Dan Moadus said the commission and council had previously voted to divide the remaining $158,372 available to the court by six and only allow the court to spend that amount for each of the remaining six months in the year. That would allow the court to spend about $26,000 a month.
Moadus said once that $26,000 monthly amount has been spent, no more checks should be issued on behalf of the court.
"We took a vote to do it this way," Moadus said. "Council has spoken and this commission has spoken."
Zirafi told commission members the $26,000 is enough for about one pay period in the court. Applying that rule would mean the court could not operate for the rest of this month, he said.
Pending litigation
Zirafi, after making a call to Atty. Frank Bodor of Warren, who represents the city in matters dealing with the court, said he was told that applying the rule and not issuing funds to the court could jeopardize upcoming court proceedings between the city and the judge.
Judge Michael Bernard ordered the city to increase the court's funding for 2005 and 2006. The city has appealed the order. That matter will be heard in the 11th District Court of Appeals in August.
Mayor James Melfi ultimately made a motion that the commission track the spending of the court and all city departments for a month with possible action to be taken at a later date. The motion passed with support from all commission members except Moadus.
"I am certainly not defending the court, but I would not change anything right now," Melfi said. "I am looking at the total funds left in that department. It's going to come down to total dollars, and the 11th District Court of Appeals is not going to shut that court down with dollars left in that account."
Moadus said the decision to track funds gives the impression that council and the commission are doing nothing to control the court's spending.
"Council has shown no backbone in dealing with this judge, and this commission is heading in the same direction of showing no backbone -- a do-nothing council and a do-nothing commission," he said.
jgoodwin@vindy.com