By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
LONGPORT The borough is looking to extend for three months its existing court shared services agreement with neighboring Margate, and is currently working to hammer out a multi-year agreement on court consolidation.
Longport Administrator A. Scott Porter told the Board of Commissioners Jan. 20 that he and Commissioner of Public Safety Dan Lawler met with Margate Commissioner of Public Safety John Amodeo and Administrator Richard Deaney to discuss extending the current shared services agreement until April, and continue discussions regarding a full consolidation of the courts.
There's been ongoing discussion over the 15 months since I've been here about consolidating the court, whether it's a joint court or shared court, but the whole idea is to move the operation to another location, Porter said.
Amodeo said the towns met twice to discuss options and move forward on the agreement. Margate solicitor John Scott Abbott and Longport attorney Michael Affanato are working out a three-year agreement, which would be implemented by resolution, he said. Either town could decide to end the agreement at any time.
For now, it will be a shared service, Amodeo said. We discussed a three-year contract with a clause that if one or the other town wanted to separate, they could.
Longport sought to use Margate's courtroom on an emergent basis after the HVAC system in Borough Hall failed in August 2019 and caused mold to develop, rendering Longport's courtroom/council chambers unusable. The room at Borough Hall has since been refurbished and is being used for commission meetings.
Margate approved an emergency shared services agreement with the borough on Feb. 6, 2020 allowing Longport's court to be held at Margate's Historic City Hall at 1 S. Washington Ave., which is just a few blocks from Longport.
The one-year agreement covered 24 court days with Longport paying $2,000 a month for the use of Margate's state-of-the-art courtroom and deputy court administrator. Longport provides its own judge, prosecutor, public defender and security during court sessions and maintains its share of fines imposed for violations.
The longer-term shared services agreement would have Longport paying $10,000 a month with Margate handling everything. The borough's current annual court budget is $200,000, and includes multiple employees and operational costs, Porter said.
Longport Mayor Nicholas Russo said he spoke with the Atlantic Cape May County Vicinage administrator, who is required to review the agreement.
The vicinage has recommended municipalities with fewer than 3,000 court cases a year consider sharing or consolidating with another municipal court. All three Downbeach communities considered having one court system, but Ventnor's caseload was much higher than in Margate, which surpasses the 3,000 caseload threshold. Longport's case load is much lower than the threshold.
Russo said the review could be fast tracked and approval in place by summer.
It's important because we have an employee we are anxious to get involved in another position here in Longport, and we need that before summer, he said.
Porter said the employee would likely be transferred to the Building Department.
In another Downbeach related court issue, Ventnor City Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on a resolution Thursday evening endorsing Atlantic County's effort to conduct a feasibility study on creating a countywide court system.
We are not in favor of a countywide system, Amodeo said. We would have to pay police overtime if the court were in Mays Landing. That won't save us any money.
Nevertheless, having a shared court in Margate would be a win-win and a perfect fit for the two towns, Amodeo said.
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