Ruller: Mayor's Court 'Worst-Case Scenario' in Kent

For Kent City Manager Dave Ruller, his stance is clear on the idea of starting should the new courthouse be built outside the city.

"A mayor's court is worst-case scenario for us," Ruller said Thursday during a meeting with Portage County Commissioners.

City officials met with the commissioners to talk about the new courthouse, which the county has been planning to build for several years. A site has not been chosen yet, and recently Portage County Commissioner Tommie Jo Marsilio suggested the county consider land it owns outside the city as a means to save money on the project.

The idea of a mayor's court, which city officials started talking about in the past two weeks, came to light Thursday .

"We don’t want to have to go to a mayor’s court," Ruller said. "We want you guys — flat out. And we’ll do whatever we can to make that happen in Kent."

Starting a mayor's court could potentially cost the county financially, as any court costs associated with operating the mayor's court would stay in Kent.

Currently, $59.50 in court costs on every case held in the Kent court go to the county. As one example, last year the recorded 3,034 traffic cases, excluding the 213 drunk-driving cases, according to the department's annual report. At $59.50 per case, that amounts to potentially $180,523 in court costs generated for the county last year that, if processed by a mayor's court, would stay in Kent.

Ruller said that, out of pure financial responsibility, the city would be forced to examine the idea because moving the courthouse out of Kent would increase transportation and man-hour costs when Kent officers go to a trial for testimony or transport prisoners to court. If it made sense financially to operate a mayor's court, the city may take a real look at it, he said.

Ruller told commissioners to keep that potential loss of court cost revenue in mind as they move forward with financial planning for the project.