KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo County board is expected to approve resolutions endorsing the idea of adding new judges to the county’s bench, even though they have no place to put them right now.
State Representative Julie Rogers says the endorsements are part of the legislative process to get the additional appointments made.
She says the judicial estimate is the county needs at least two more judges.
“They take into account the number of residents in the county and then the number of crimes being committed and charged, and so their estimate is that the average workload per judge is 119%,” Rogers says.
She says the county will likely have time to prepare for the new judgeships.
“It might be a couple year process before this would actually be ready for you all.”
While the state pays the salaries of the judges, it’s up to the county to provide everything else.
Board vice chair John Taylor says they will need the time to make plans.
“The salary for a judge is nothing compared to all the support staff, the construction costs, the building of a courtroom, the fringe, all those other things,” says Taylor.
Kalamazoo County currently has 15 judges assigned to its Circuit, District and Probate courts.
The county has already had to make room for an additional judge since the new Justice Center downtown opened.
They put the office in the basement of the Probate Court on Gull Road.
Comments