The city’s drug problem “has become increasingly worse each year,” Ruppert told council last month. He has served as municipal court judge the past nine years. “We have to recognize that it’s not just Franklin. It’s a problem across the state of Ohio and across the nation.”
Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that handle the cases of non-violent, substance-abusing offenders. Typically, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation and law enforcement officials, drug treatment centers and social service and mental health agencies work together to help the offenders in their recovery and restoration process.
City Council members agreed in October that there is a need for the drug court, but they wanted to see more data and have the issue vetted by the city’s safety and finance committees before committing to the court expansion. One of the key concerns is the cost associated with Ruppert’s proposal.
Ruppert has proposed the city pay for a new secretary position in the court’s probation department, and council members are concerned the court’s subsidy will increase. Over the past few years, that subsidy ranged between $245,000 and as much as $473,000 in 2013, Ruppert said. In 2014, due to a $48,000 healthcare increase, he said the subsidy for 2014 will be about $450,000.
Franklin City Council spent nearly 90 minutes Monday discussing the matter and opted to have a committee of city and court officials meet to determine the current budget numbers so council can make a decision. The committee will be tasked to reconcile the differences in how the judge and the city accounts for the funding.
In addition to the court subsidy from the city, Ruppert is able to generate revenues through various fees that make up the court costs that are charged in each case. Those revenues, such as court computer fees, special project fees, and fees to cover the costs of electronic house arrest devices can only be used for those specific items and the judge has the power to set those charges.
Council suggested hiring a part-time magistrate to help with the workload. Ruppert said that would cost about $60,000 a year and that it would be difficult to find someone for the part-time job.
Councilman Jason Faulkner, who opposes making the judge a full-time position, asked if there was any consideration to working with Carlisle, Franklin Twp., Warren County or the state to combine resources for a drug court. He and some other council members did not think it was fair for the city to provide court services for Carlisle and the township.
“If we implemented this it would concentrate the court in one place in the county,” he said.
When asked for his thoughts, state Rep. Ron Maag said the legislature will be working on this after the lame duck session and that council should think carefully before moving forward.
“I don’t want to see you go too far out,” he said. “It’s a good idea but slow it back a month or two. There are a lot of complicated parts and a lot of moving parts to this … the conversation has started. This is a very hard problem.”
Maag said he believed the issue will become a priority in the next General Assembly that starts in January.
Ruppert said the court is not self-sufficient, saying “the court is not supposed to make money, it’s to dispense justice.” He also added that the Ohio Supreme Court is committed to reducing part-time judgeships. Ruppert said he is doubtful that the state will provide funding for these types of courts.
“I’ve determined we need to have a drug court,” Ruppert said. “If council doesn’t fund it, we still need to put those people into a drug program. We need to put their feet to the fire and hold them accountable.”
He believes the program will help to reduce drug deaths and the crimes committed that are related to drugs.
Vice Mayor Todd Hall pointed out that council has taken risks in the past when other councils wouldn’t have tried something. Hall said council shouldn’t be afraid to again take a risk with the proposal.
He also expressed frustrations that council does not have a clear set of numbers on how this would be financed.
“If the state kicks in (some funding), that’s wonderful,” he said. “If we do things, we do it for us.”
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