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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Ind. Courts - More on: Settlement avoids judicial mandate action in Hammond

Updating this ILB entry from Feb. 26th, Susan Brown reports today in the NWI Times:

HAMMOND | Money didn't provoke the testy legal confrontation between the court and the City Council, City Judge Jeffrey Harkin said Monday. It was the failure to communicate.

"Cutting the budget was never the issue," Harkin said.

Harkin filed his suit last October after the council had cut the court's budget over and above Harkin's own 5 percent reduction for a total of more than 10 percent. He learned of the budget cut just hours before the council adopted its budget; the council subsequently refused to meet with the judge over the issues.

Fifth District Councilman Dan Repay, then council president, said it wasn't a matter of not talking so much as timing. "The lawsuit was filed before we could meet," Repay said.

Attorneys may prove the only real winners in the standoff.

Court documents show the court's final budget coming in at $706,630, even lower than the $728,480 to which the City Council had slashed the court's budget, setting off Harkin's lawsuit.

Already the city has received a nearly $6,100 billing from Harkin's attorney, David Weigle of Hammond. The council was represented by the council's longtime attorney, Robert Berger, who this year became contracted by the hour. In addition, the city administration intervened in the case to protect its own interest, hiring the law firm of Eichhorn & Eichhorn.

Settlement negotiations concluded with the judge and the council agreeing to eliminate the jobs of a bailiff and a probation officer. The number of court referees was restored to two though at reduced salaries. The two public defenders will have their salaries reduced to $14,500 each but will retain their health insurance.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 17, 2009 09:14 AM
Posted to Indiana Courts