Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield said his plan to move Chattanooga City Court out of the Hamilton County-Chattanooga Courts Building is an effort to operate government efficiently and effectively.
City Court Judges Russell Bean and Sherry Paty implored the City Council on Tuesday not to support the move, saying it could hurt court functions. They also questioned what would be gained from the move.
Littlefield estimated the city could save $50,000 to $100,000 by moving the court and clerk's office into the former Tennessee American Water building at 10th and Lindsay streets. The city-owned property sits across from City Hall.
"I just don't see the inconvenience," he said, noting that the mayor's staff used to work out of the building before moving to City Hall.
Paty said moving City Court and the clerk's office would cause problems for the public and raise security concerns when inmates must come to the court for traffic violations.
Bean questioned the savings and said the timing didn't make sense. He said he recently toured the Tennessee American building with the mayor and said he told Littlefield the space was too small for the court.
The budgeted cost, including salary and benefits for 27 employees in the clerk's office and courts, is $3.35 million annually. The City Court clerk's office handles nearly 100,000 violations each year, according to city records.
Littlefield also has suggested the idea of eliminating City Court and handing the caseload to Hamilton County General Sessions Courts.
City Court's constitutionally mandated $50 limit on fines makes the system largely a "toothless tiger," the mayor said.
"From a practical standpoint, a city court does not carry the same weight as other courts," he said.
Shifting City Court to General Sessions might require a referendum to change the City Charter, Littlefield said, or the county might have to obtain a charter enabling its courts to enforce city ordinances.
General Sessions Court Clerk Gwen Tidwell has been in the office since 1994 and worked in City Court in 1990, when the city lost jurisdiction over criminal cases. Thousands of cases were moved to Sessions Court overnight, which "swamped" the staff, she said.
General Sessions clerks handled more than 36,000 cases last year, down from 50,000 in years past, she said.
Littlefield said there is no definite time for moving the courts.
"We are in a city that is changing and growing, and that is going to continue whether people are comfortable with it or not," he said.