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<br />RESOLUTION 6090 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW <br />COUNTY OF RAMSEY <br />STATE OF MINNESOTA <br /> <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 /> <br />WHEREAS, Ramsey County Chief Judge Mott has announced that the District Court <br />was considering closing the Maplewood Suburban Court in response to proposed state <br />funding decreases; <br /> <br />WHEREAS, at no time has the leadership of the Ramsey County District Court involved <br />the suburban cities in a planning effort to analyze possible measures to absorb the <br />anticipated budget cuts; <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the closing of the Maplewood Suburban Court will result in the following: <br /> <br />. <br /> <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 <br />the court staff needed for the increased workload, <br /> <br />. Police officers will be off the streets for longer periods of time to travel longer <br />distances and to wait longer periods of time for overcrowded court schedules, <br /> <br />. Suburban police departments will incur increased costs to pay for longer waiting <br />times, parking costs, and additional officers to cover the longer absences, <br /> <br />. Suburban citizens will suffer major inconvenience from traveling longer distances <br />and waiting longer periods of time to be heard, <br /> <br />. Cooperation of civilian witnesses and crime victims with the prosecution will be <br />lost, particularly in domestic abuse cases, due to the remote location and <br />increased waiting time, and <br /> <br />. Prosecution costs will potentially increase if each city's cases are spread <br />between more courtrooms. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, suburban cities recognize the real need to cut costs at the district court <br />level; <br /> <br />WHEREAS, suburban cities are themselves struggling with proposed cuts in their own <br />state funding; and <br /> <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 />