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BY SUSAN BROWN
sbrown@nwitimes.com
219.836.3780 | Tuesday, February 27, 2007 | (No comments posted.)
HAMMOND | Court won't be in session in City Hall by the end of the year -- or maybe it will.
After taking the battle behind closed doors in a Democratic caucus for about an hour and 15 minutes, City Council members returned to their seats and took no action on Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.'s veto on re-authorizing city court for four years.
The council undertook no public discussion or public vote on the question, effectively sanctioning McDermott's veto. Overriding the mayor's veto would have required a two-thirds vote of the council.
Last week, by not signing the measure, McDermott effected a pocket veto of the ordinance re-establishing the court that was passed by the council two weeks ago.
McDermott argued the ordinance renews the court until 2011, tying the hands of a new administration if he should not be re-elected. In addition, the mayor said the court was a source of potential cost-cutting.
City Court Judge Jeffrey Harkin said court will cease Dec. 31 unless re-created by another ordinance that can be agreed to by a majority of the council.
Harkin said he will ask the council to introduce an ordinance that "will continue the life of the court."
Last week, just hours before McDermott failed to return the signed ordinance within the requisite time, Harkin said he was unaware the mayor intended to veto the ordinance.
Harkin said the mayor may have become aware municipal courts no longer need to be re-authorized by the council once they've been established. The courts exist until abolished by the council, he said.
Following Monday's caucus, which was attended by the mayor and his legal counsel, Harkin would only say that the state does require the court to be created by ordinance.
Harkin said he was "flabbergasted" by the attack on the court.
"I had no idea," he said.
Harkin said McDermott targeted the court for cost cutting during the caucus, but Harkin said his traffic court alone had brought in $109,000 last year.
Harkin said the mayor had offered no in-depth analysis of the court's cost-effectiveness.
He would not say how many council members supported the court.
"It appeared to be the will of the council to let it die (until another day)," Harkin said.
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