Magisterial office staffing could be reviewed
WAYNESBURG – Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman said Wednesday court officials might review staffing levels for the county’s three magisterial offices rather than redrawing the district maps as he had earlier considered.
Toothman suggested the possible staffing changes as an alternative plan moments after he closed a public hearing in which no one testified about potential changes to the district maps and was only attended by District Judge Glenn Bates and a newspaper reporter.
“I didn’t expect throngs of people to attend, but I wanted to give them the opportunity to share their thoughts on the matter,” Toothman said.
The president judge called the hearing in his courtroom and is planning another one next Thursday at 7 p.m. to garner feedback on whether he should petition the state judiciary to redraw the district to even out the caseload. Toothman said in an Aug. 15 news conference that Bates approached him early last year to discuss returning Washington and Whiteley townships to his jurisdiction.
The three magisterial districts were realigned in 2013 following the most recent census, and the past three years show an even distribution. However, the past two full years with the new maps have shown that the district overseen by former district judge Louis Dayich’s office has had a larger caseload, mostly because of traffic citations on Interstate 79.
“Maybe districts don’t need to be changed … maybe it’s a staffing issue,” Toothman said. “If the public is OK with the districts the way they are, then we have to look at time management.”
Toothman suggested they investigate the year-to-date figures for 2016 to help determine whether the staff in each office, which includes three clerks per judge, should be rearranged. He also said there are other factors that go beyond the number of cases, including differing amounts of time that it takes to process traffic citations, criminal charges and landlord-tenant disputes.
“I’m here to listen and weigh other factors,” Toothman said. “The number of people who show up (at the hearings) doesn’t change the decisions that must be made administratively.”
Bates declined to comment after the hearing, but said he attended because he was invited by Toothman. The other two magistrates, Senior District Judge Jesse Cramer, who replaced Dayich earlier this year, and District Lee Watson, were also invited, but not ordered, to attend the public hearing, Toothman said.
Multiple sources said the three magistrates did attend a debriefing with Toothman around 3 p.m., although it was not known what was discussed during the private meeting.
Toothman and the magistrates could not be reached for comment following that debriefing.