RINGGOLD, Ga. -- Having a state court in Catoosa County is expected to save time and headaches on both sides of the bench, but it will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Last week, the Catoosa County Commission agreed to pay $166,500 for two salaried positions for the court.
Commissioners unanimously decided at their March 17 meeting that the Catoosa County state court judge and solicitor should be full-time positions. If approved by the Legislature, the court will begin operating July 1, 2016.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal gestures while delivering his State of the State Address at the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman) State courts handle smaller cases, like misdemeanors now in Catoosa County Superior Court and traffic cases sitting in probate court. Projections estimate it could cost around $570,000 a year, including the new salaries. Meanwhile, it would relieve the workload on judges and prosecutors in other courts. It also would let defendants go to trial faster than they now do.
Commissioners voted to pay the state court judge 90 percent of the salary of a typical state court judge in his or her first year, meaning the Catoosa judge would get about $90,000.
In August, Georgia Council of State Court Judges Executive Director Bob Bray gave Catoosa County officials a feasibility study, projecting how much the court would cost and how many cases it would see. Bray expected the county to pay its state court judge about $96,000, plus another $50,000 in "fringe benefits."
The resolution that the commission passed does not mention benefits.
The County Commission also voted last week to give its solicitor (state court prosecutor) a salary equal to 85 percent of the state court judge's salary. That would be $76,500.
According to Bray's report that is based on the county's caseload from 2008-12, the state court would see about 4,500 cases a year. That is about 1,500 more cases than what Walker County's state court saw in 2012.
To make a state court a reality in Catoosa County, state Rep. Tom Weldon, R-Ringgold, must file a local act in the capitol. He had not done that as of Monday afternoon and did not return calls or emails asking for an update.
Gov. Nathan Deal will appoint Catoosa County's state court judge and solicitor after members of his office and the judicial nominating committee interview candidates who throw their hats into the ring.
Local attorney Shawn Bible and Assistant Public Defender Doug Woodruff said they are both interested in the solicitor position, though they want to see Weldon's local act filed first.
Tom Weldon"You hate to try to make a decision until you know what something is going to be," Woodruff said.
Bible, who works as a probate court solicitor part time while operating his private practice, is not sure he wants the state court job. He is worried about closing his own practice to become a full-time solicitor.
Making the prosecutor a full-time position could cut down on conflicts, though. If a solicitor helps a man file for divorce as a private attorney, then sees that man on trial in state court, the prosecutor would have to recuse himself.
Bible thinks about 90 percent of the state court work will be cases he is already handling in probate court, cases that will get transferred to the new office. He doesn't think a solicitor will need to spend 40 hours a week on it.
"It won't be a bad job for whoever gets it," he said. "I wouldn't mind doing it if the salary is high enough. ... You'll probably have to find ways to spend your time."
Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at tjett@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.