Boroughs hope to save thousands
Rutherford and North Arlington are in the early stages of considering a shared services agreement to share court space, according to Rutherford Councilperson Rose Inguanti, North Arlington Councilman Steve Tanelli contacted Rutherford about the possibility of sharing Rutherford's court facilities.
"It was a preliminary meeting, but I think we're both very motivated," said Inguanti.
North Arlington's courtroom, located on the second floor of its borough hall, is significantly smaller than Rutherford's facilities, seating only about 30 people compared to Rutherford's several hundred.
"It's quite over-crowded on the second floor on court days," said borough administrator Terence Wall. The crowding creates an administrative concern, said Wall. People preparing for court are sometimes forced to meet with counsel in the hallways, according to Inguanti.
In addition, Wall said North Arlington needs to enhance several safety and security features such as allowing proper sight lines within the courtroom, assuring that furniture is safely secured, enhancing video technology and perhaps even installing metal detectors and bullet-proof glass. All of these improvements would require an investment on the town's part. Wall said increasing the size of the North Arlington courtroom is also under consideration, but that would entail all the costs of a significant capital improvement.
Tanelli said he thought North Arlington and Rutherford were a good fit for shared-services agreements because of the towns' recent financial troubles. Last year taxes increased by 33 percent in North Arlington and 15.7 percent in Rutherford.
Both towns have similar numbers of court personnel. Both have three full-time court employees, a judge, a prosecutor and a public defender. Altogether, Rutherford's court currently costs the town $263,508 per year, with $205,868 of that in salaries and wages. Expenses include interpreters, equipment and utility costs. However, Rutherford's court generates about $400,000 in revenue for the borough each year, according to Inguanti. She said she hopes the combining services could allow the municipalities to continue their respective court revenue streams while diminishing the overall cost to the boroughs.
Rutherford court administrator Kathleen Laudicina has experience with sharing court services. Before she came to Rutherford in 2000 she was court administrator for Ho-Ho-Kus and oversaw the combination of its court system with Allendale's. Laudicina said possible arrangements could range from something as basic as both towns maintaining the same staff and North Arlington renting court space at Rutherford to the towns sharing personnel in the same building but that no specific plans have been determined yet.
