Hardin County Auditor, 1 Court House Sq, Rm 250, Kenton, OH 43326, US

About The Court Most people in Morrow County have very little direct contact with the court systems. Morrow County has two courts of record which serve the citizens of the County. The Common Pleas Court has jurisdiction over matters relating to nearly every aspect of an individual's life. The Common Pleas Court has Juvenile, Probate, Domestic Relations, and General Divisions. Morrow County is unique in that it is the largest populated of the remaining five (5) counties in Ohio which have only one Judge handling all of those divisions. The County also has a Municipal Court which was created as of January 1, 2003, having been converted from a County Court. The result of the conversion is that Morrow County now has, by necessity, a full time Municipal Court Judge, being Judge Lee McClelland. The Municipal Court has county-wide jurisdiction over adult traffic, misdemeanors, small claims and other civil actions under $15, 000. Some of the Villages in Morrow County have Mayor's Courts, but they are not considered courts of record. A lot of citizens are aware of the current budgetary problems that most governmental agencies, including the Courts, are experiencing. Morrow County has been no exception to this problem situation which has been dealt with by all counties in the State of Ohio due to dwindling revenues in a poor economic climate. We all hope that the recent upturns in the economy will continue and that the result will be additional revenues for county government and the Courts. As all citizens of Morrow County should realize, Morrow County has now become one of the fastest growing counties in the State of Ohio. With the growth in population comes increased case loads in the court systems. As indicated above, the changes from the County Court to a Municipal Court with a full time Judge were necessary to keep up with the case increases. The Common Pleas Court also faces the necessity of having an additional judge so that cases can progress through the system in a more effective and timely manner. It has recognized that a new Judge coming into Morrow County Common Pleas Court system has been needed for years, but the facilities available have been inadequate. Judge Hall along with Judge McClelland from the Municipal Court, have met regularly and periodically with Morrow County Commissioners for over 4 ' years in a effort to develop plans for Courthouse renovations designed to have the maximum efficient use of facilities by all Judges in the county with needed additional space for a new Judge at the Common Pleas Court level. There simply is no other reasonable alternative or cost effective alternative to meet the needs of the citizens of Morrow County regarding the Court systems in Morrow County. Morrow County Commissioners obtained plans for Courthouse renovations from an architect in the summer of 2002. Funding must be obtained to move forward with renovations of Walnut Place and the Courthouse so that adequate facilities will become available for the court systems as well as other county offices, including the Clerk of Courts, Auditor, Recorder, and Treasurer. With special project fund monies through the Common Pleas Court and the Municipal Court being made available for debt repayment possibly until the county jail debt is paid off, there will be little or no hardship or additional burden to the taxpaying citizens of Morrow County in moving forward with this much needed project. By comparison with facilities in other counties, Morrow County has some of the most inadequate court facilities in the State of Ohio. When the new Judgeship is approved as recommended to the Commissioners and also ultimately approved by the Supreme Court and State Legislature, the proposal would be the most cost effective way of moving forward in Morrow County since the Common Pleas Judges are paid almost totally by State funds. Under the proposal, the Divisions of the Common Pleas Court would not be split. Such splits normally result in the need fo

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