Washtenaw County’s virtually independent trial court system could soon be subject to the authority of the Board of Commissioners as a result of an impromptu set of votes and discussion at the board’s two back-to-back meetings Wednesday night.
The county’s trial court -- which include circuit court, juvenile court, friend of the court and probate court with seven elected judges lead by Chief Judge Donald Shelton -- operate now with the power to determine how its annual lump sum budget allocation from the county of about $18.6 million is used.
Commissioner Alicia Ping, R-Saline, speaks at a board retreat in March.
Andrew Kuhn | For AnnArbor.com
The item was not on the written agenda for the Wednesday meeting and several of the commissioners, including Board Chairman Yousef Rabhi, said they didn’t know they would be facing a vote on this issue.
Ping cited a need for the trial court to submit a line item budget for its expenditures instead of just requesting a lump sum each year from the county board to hand over for operations.
The trial court’s $18.6 million budget accounts for about 20 percent of the county’s general fund spending.
“As a responsible body, we need to go where the money is going,” Ping said.
It’s not the first time the Board of Commissioners has discussed the issue.
Commissioner Conan Smith, D-Ann Arbor, attempted to get the trial court to submit a line item budget three times unsuccessfully in his previous terms on the board.
The trial court system is formed as a result of Michigan state law and the county is obligated to fund it. However, under that law, the trial court is not mandated to adhere to the county’s policies.
As a trade-off, Washtenaw County’s trial court had agreed to follow the county’s policies - regarding hiring of employees, for instance - in exchange for the county giving it total control over its budget through a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
That’s not a good trade, Smith said. The trial court is operating now as an independent branch of government with complete control and no check on its functions, Smith said.
The trial court submits a line item budget to the county administrator each year as a part of its process - but per the memorandum of understanding, the Board of Commissioners has no authority over how the court chooses to move its money between line items.
Ping said her reasoning behind bringing the motion was to have the court adhere to the same line item budget process that the board asks every other elected official to do in the budget cycle, though Smith said he saw the move as a way to place a check on the court’s operations.
“I’ve struggled with the courts with what their budget is and how it affects the systemic operations of Washtenaw County,” Smith said.
Ping said terminating the lump sum budget agreement would require the county to issue a six month notification period. Given that the county is in the middle of preparing a new four-year budget by Dec. 31, Commissioner Dan Smith, R-Northfield Township, advocated for moving forward on the vote as quickly as possible so the county could meet its budget deadline.
Chairman Rabhi and several other commissioners expressed their hesitance on voting on the issue Wednesday, citing potential unintended repercussions of demanding more control over the trial court budget without talking with the trial court administration first.
There was no representative from the trial court at the Wednesday meeting.
“We need to be respectful of our partners on the court system,” Rabhi said. “I don’t want to create a confrontational atmosphere. I know that some of that has already been done.”
Rabhi said he anticipates some county court staff will wake up feeling angry and alienated Thursday morning.
“The fact that we’re having this discussion tonight will raise tensions,” Rabhi said.
Commissioner Ronnie Peterson, D-Ypsilanti, said the trial court would not roll over for the Board of Commissioners and that the court needs the flexibility to manage their own operations.
“We may be starting a fire here that we’re not able to put out,” said Commissioner Rolland Sizemore Jr., D-Ypsilanti Township.
Commissioner Felicia Brabec, D-Pittsfield Township, said she felt the board’s process to be lacking because she was being asked to vote on an item without a complete discussion.
Ping said that she had been researching the motion for about six weeks and had copied the board members on email communication.
“Maybe no one took it seriously, but I have been talking about it for six weeks,” she said.
After much discussion and a failed attempt by Peterson to table the measure, the item was approved in a 5-4 vote with Commissioners Peterson, Rabhi, Sizemore and Brabec voting against it.
The Board then voted 6-3 to move the item to the following regular meeting Wednesday night for final approval. Commissioners Sizemore, Brabec and Peterson voted against it.
In the 10-minute break between the Ways and Means and regular board meeting, the county’s corporation counsel Curtis Hedger looked up the memorandum of understanding between the county and its trial courts.
During discussion in the regular meeting, Hedger stated the document actually required a yearlong notification process, not six months.
With the pressing time element of the county’s budget cycle off the table, Rabhi moved to postpone the final vote on the matter to the board’s July 10 meeting. The board approved the measure in a 6-3 vote, with Commissioners Dan Smith, Kent Martinez-Kratz and Ping voting against it.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.