At a special emergency meeting held on July 10, the Atlantic County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the county executive to accept up to $1 million in state grant funding for the Central Municipal Court of Atlantic County.
The special emergency meeting was necessary due to the time constraints of the Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) grant that required acceptance on or before July 11.
According to County Executive Dennis Levinson, the funds are being provided to offset the costs incurred by the Central Municipal Court from January 2022 through July 2024 in handling state police summonses from the 13 Atlantic County towns that do not participate in the Central Municipal Court.
Approximately 10,000 state police cases a year are heard by the Central Municipal Court that originated from nonparticipating towns. But beginning Aug. 1, 2024, as a result of a bill sponsored by Senator Vince Polistina to amend the original legislation, state police summonses will be filed in the municipality in which they originated.
“The legislation and the substantial state grant will greatly assist the court and the citizens it serves,” stated Commission Chairwoman Maureen Kern. “The 10 towns that currently participate in the Central Municipal Court will see even more savings.”
Superior Court Assignment Judge Michael Blee noted that all state police summonses that are filed by July 31 will still be processed by the Central Municipal Court, which could take up to a year to complete. He believes, however, that by early next year, there will be a noticeable difference in the caseload.
The Central Municipal Court of Atlantic County was established in January 2022, the first of its kind in New Jersey, with 10 participating municipalities: Corbin City, Egg Harbor Township, Estell Manor, Galloway, Hamilton Township, Linwood, Northfield, Port Republic, Ventnor, and Weymouth Township.
Levinson offered any nonparticipating town that would like to join, the option to do so.
“It’s not too late to realize savings for your taxpayers by joining the consolidated court. Home rule’s duplication of services is unnecessary and costly.”
The county executive admitted to some growing pains but feels the court is making headway.
“We’ve had some challenges and we’ve addressed them. In addition to the savings towns enjoyed by joining the court, we’ve been able to reduce the cost of security and, through legislation, reduce the caseload,” he said. “With this state grant, we will be able to help our towns save more money for their taxpayers at a time when costs at the supermarket and elsewhere continue to rise. We are encouraged about the future of this court.”
