Davis County to take over West Bountiful court

WEST BOUNTIFUL — Starting in July, traffic tickets, class B and C misdemeanors, small claims, and city and county ordinance violations will no longer be adjudicated in West Bountiful.

The City Council voted Tuesday night to cede its jurisdiction to the Davis County Justice Court in Farmington, a decision county commissioners approved earlier in the day.

West Bountiful acting city administrator Craig Howe told commissioners that because the court only meets once a week for about three hours, it would be more efficient for the county court, which meets every weekday, to handle West Bountiful's workload — about 140 cases a month.

Currently, West Bountiful pays a part-time judge and a full-time court clerk. By eliminating those positions as well as other court costs, the city can save nearly $130,000 in fiscal 2010 by letting the county court handle its cases.

The county and city will take a 50-50 split in revenue from fines and forfeitures, expected to be about $200,000 this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Over the past few years, that revenue has declined from $271,489 in 2005, to $245,825 in 2006, $235,237 in 2007 and $205,221 in 2008, according to the current city budget.

West Bountiful Mayor James Behunin said the city is striving to save money wherever possible.

"It's just a philosophy we have that we're going to keep our expenditures within our revenues," Behunin said. "To be efficient, a lot of smaller cities and others need to look for ways where we can combine our resources."

County Judge Gerald Jensen, who will be taking on West Bountiful's cases, said he considers the plan a win-win for the city and county.

It will be less expensive, and because the county court is open all week, people have better access to the court, Jensen said. They'll just have to drive the few miles up to Farmington.

Farmington, Kaysville, West Point, Layton and Bountiful have similar agreements with the Davis County Justice Court.

The remaining 10 cities in Davis County have their own justice courts, which operate in city halls.

Lu Vander Meyden, West Bountiful's court clerk whose position will be eliminated in July, said she doesn't have any job prospects yet but hasn't started looking for a new job yet.

"This one's still going," she said.

E-MAIL: jdougherty@desnews.com