…or rather, the lack of Municipal Courts in Rhode Island.
As of June, there are 16 communities in Rhode Island that do not have a municipal court. They are:
Barrington
Charlestown*
Exeter*
Foster
Glocester
Jamestown*
Little Compton
New Shoreham
North Kingstown*
North Smithfield
Portsmouth
Richmond
Scituate
Smithfield*
South Kingstown
West Greenwich
Towns which have a star have legislative authority to set up a municipal court anytime they want but have not yet taken the State of Rhode Island up on it’s offer. 41% of Rhode Island Towns do not have a municipal court. That seems like a large number to me, almost half.
You will notice that there are some LARGE municipalities included in the list.
I guess they don’t have illegal apartments in those Towns. I wonder why not? If you didn’t notice that the last sentence was dripping with sarcasm, the point I am trying to make is that there is something more to Hopkinton’s municipal court than illegal apartments. I really think that the illegal apartment issue is a red herring and if it were as problematic as the municipal court proponents say, every Town would have instituted a court years ago. But it’s not and they have not.
SK: 30,000 people. No Municipal Court. NK: 27,000 people. No Municipal Court. Smithfield: 20,000 people. No Municipal Court. Portsmouth: 17,000 people. No Municipal Court. Barrington: 17,000 people. No Municipal Court.
Get the picture?
September 5, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I think the Municipal court is a good Idea. It saves time from having to run all over the place.
But I would cautions the citizens to watch for corrupt practices such as: Regardless of the outcome, everyone pays a “Court Cost.” (Just another tax, with-out the vote!)
How is the Court Cost money collected and spent? Does the magistrate get the money?
If the court does not prove beneficial to the town, then petition to put it on the ballot and change it.
Make this one of Scott Hurst’s projects and he can use it to keep his name in the paper and further his political career? Just throwing that out there…
September 5, 2008 at 4:19 pm
The original plan was to have the court sustain itself, it is supposed to use court fees to pay for staff and would be a zero-cost liability to the Town. I find this unlikely to happen. So what happens if the court does not collect enough fees to pay the magistrate? 1. She just gets meaner and piles it on the few people that come along so she can get paid or 2. The Town sucks up the difference and our taxes go higher. Does either sound like a good idea to anyone by Vincenzo Cordone?
September 8, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I can understand WHY the town wants to legislate illegal apartments. A person was burned to death in one, in our town.
Should it be easier to make an apartment? YES
Should we add on an aparment with only ONE exit? NO
September 10, 2008 at 2:20 am
By that logic, a 70 year old person died in a car accident on Route 3. Perhaps we should consider legislation restricting the sale of motor vehicles to persons over 65 years of age?
The Town has already “legislated illegal apartments” via housing and building codes. Enforcement is the issue, not legislation.
People die every damn day. For all kinds of stupid reasons. Did anyone sue the owner of the house into oblivion? This truly seems like a civil issue or a case in which the landlord should be charged criminally with negligence.
I’m not saying these apartments are good or bad. I don’t care. What I care about is the fact that I think the “illegal apartment issue” is a load of crap and there are other reasons, either nefarious or assinine (take your pick) for instituting a municipal court.
16 other communities just like ours or with bigger problems also agree with me about the necessity of such a court….