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,~K~~~P e <br />CITY OF FALCON HEIGHTS ~ ~ ~ <br />CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION /2 ~ <br />DATE: August 27, 2003 <br />Number: 03-15 <br />A RESOLUTION OPPOSING THE CLOSURE OF ANY SUBURBAN COURTHOUSE <br />AND REQUESTING RAMSEY COUNTY DISTRICT COURT <br />TO SHARE INFORMATION AND COOPERATIVELY EXAMINE <br />POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR STATE FUNDING CUTS <br />WHEREAS, leadership of the Ramsey County District Court has announced that it will consider <br />closing the Maplewood Suburban Court in response to proposed state funding decreases; <br />WHEREAS, Court leadership may have options for alternative revenue sources, such as case <br />fees, and cost-savings due to alternate staffing models and technology improvements; <br />WHEREAS, the closing of the Maplewood Suburban Court will result in the following: <br />• There will be much longer court calendars and overcrowding at the downtown <br />courthouse, which does not have the space to absorb additional defendants and the court <br />staff needed for the increased workload, <br />• • .Police officers will be off the streets for lon er eriods of time to travel lon er distances <br />g P g <br />and to wait longer periods of time .for overcrowded court schedules, <br />• Suburban police departments will incur increased costs to pay for longer waiting times, <br />pazking costs, and additional officers to cover the longer absences, <br />• .Suburban citizens will suffer major inconvenience- from traveling longer distances and <br />waiting longer periods of time to be heard, <br />• Cooperation of civilian witnesses and crime victims with the prosecution will be lost, <br />particularly in domestic abuse cases, due to the remote location and increased waiting <br />time. <br />WHEREAS, suburban cities recognize the real need to cut costs at the district court level; <br />WHEREAS, suburban cities continue to provide their communities with services at lower <br />staffing levels as a result of state aid cuts; <br />WHEREAS, suburban cities wish to cooperate with the District Court in analyzing other <br />alternatives that could avoid shifting the court's budget cuts to the cities. <br />I ~ NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Falcon Heights, <br />Minnesota that: <br />r4 <br />