Peterson has no intention of honoring boards wishes
By Anne Trautner
Assistant Editor
The Walworth Village Board requested Monday that John “Jay” Peterson resign from his position as Walworth municipal judge, but Peterson has no intention to resign.
The call for the resignation came after Peterson, who was re-elected to a four-year term in April 2011, ordered that a lawyer, rather than police, handle all pretrial negotiations for the municipality. The request also followed a lengthy discussion about the municipal court’s declining income from paid fines.
Peterson, who was at the board meeting, did not respond to the board’s resolution Monday. However, he said Tuesday that he does not plan to resign.
Court attorney
“The changes that are being requested by the judge have not been budgeted,” said Kent Johnson, village trustee.
“To address the budget issue, there is new legislation that came out at the beginning of this month that allows an increase for the amount of court costs to be put in the citations from $28 to $38.” Peterson said.
Up until now, the Walworth Village Police have met with people after a citation has been issued. Whoever does not pay their fee after those initial negotiations is required to come back in 60 days for a good cause hearing to explain why they didn’t pay.
Peterson has ordered that an attorney now handle all pretrial negotiations for the municipal court, which handles municipal offenses such as traffic violations, first-time OWIs and juvenile matters like truancy.
“That is going to cost $15,000 to $20,000 a year, when what we are doing is perfectly legal and correct,” Johnson said.
Peterson said it is in the best interest of the municipality that there are no trial negotiations between the police department and the people who receive the citations.
“It’s not an issue between the person who received the citation and the police officer, it’s an issue between the person who received the citation and the municipality,” he said.
“The municipality has to be represented by an attorney. The cops can’t be the person who’s representing and negotiating on behalf of the village.”
Police handle pre-trials for other departments, the county, the state patrol and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Johnson said.
However, many other municipal courts require that an attorney handle pre-trial negotiations, including the Town of Delavan, Delavan, Town of Geneva, Geneva, Fontana, Williams Bay, Elkhorn, East Troy, Linn, Sharon, Darien and East Troy, Peterson said.
Court Income
The Walworth Municipal Court currently has more than $200,000 worth of uncollected fines, Johnson said.
“We are declining at the percentage of what [people] are actually fined and what we actually collect rather dramatically,” Village Board President David Rasmussen said.
The amount collected in fines has dropped from $172,000 in 2007 to $124,000 in 2012, according to Rasmussen.
The income the municipal court brings in is comparable to courts in Lake Geneva and Delavan, Peterson said. It is not comparable to Sharon, Linn or Williams Bay because they issue more citations, he said.
Indigence
About 15 percent of the uncollected fines are from people who have been found indigent, or unable to pay.
“The real issue is that I think people are concerned that your view entirely differs from ours on indigency,” Rasmussen told Peterson.
“And I think there’s an impression … that the definition of indigency in Walworth is a lot looser than that of a lot of other communities.
“There’s no colloquy, there’s no investigation, there’s no questioning of people when they come in. They are in and out very quickly and given six months without any difficulty.”
Peterson admitted that all 26 people who came to court last week were found indigent and not ordered to pay anything.
“None of them were ordered to pay because they gave me their testimony,” Peterson said. “Two of them came with paperwork showing that [they were unable to pay],” Peterson said.
The defendants were not under oath, he said.
“It’s embarrassing enough for people to come in and have to tell their woes to me, but they do,” Peterson said. “They still have to pay their fine.”
Those who are unable to pay are put on a payment plan, Peterson said.
Peterson said he begins a good cause hearing by asking the person if they are able to pay.
“I think it’s wrong. You’re setting them up to tell you a story. It sounds naive. You make the village look naive. I have no problem saying this to you. I have waited a long time,” Rasmussen told Peterson.
“You have served as an advocate for people coming in rather than as an advocate for public safety.”
“I think you’re wrong, dead wrong, absolutely wrong in what you are saying,” Peterson replied.
“The number one issue that has to be addressed in an indigency hearing is their financial situation, so I ask them questions about their financial situation. Period. There’s no reason to go anywhere beyond that.
“What I need to find out is whether or not they meet the statutory requirements of indigency and if they do, I stay within my boundaries; I don’t go beyond it. I won’t be pressured to do that by you or by anyone else.”
More than half of the court’s indigency hearings end up in a payment plan, Peterson said.
“The bottom line is public safety, and I think you’re failing,” Rasmussen said.
“I think you’ve given the village a bad reputation. I think it’s silly. I think it’s somewhat embarrassing.
“I mean, we have people drive down Kenosha Street at 60 or 70 miles per hour and you think that if they are indigent, that it’s really not worth asking them what they’re coming in with, what they are driving, what they are doing.”
Many people are out of work or on governmental assistance, in which case the court cannot perform any collection practices, Peterson said.
“If they get another fine, they still have to pay,” Peterson said. “It doesn’t go away.”
Court clerk
Amid the changes in the court, Ellen Reddy turned in her resignation two weeks ago as municipal court clerk.
Peterson suggested a replacement for her, but the board tabled the hiring of a new clerk until January.
Court cannot proceed until the position is filled. Petersen said court was expected to proceed as normal on Thursday.
In other business
• Approved a $21,300 loan for a new police squad car.
• Approved an amendment to the health flexible spending account to allow employees to carry over up to $500 to the following year, beginning this year.
• Approved the appointments of chief election inspectors, election inspectors and special voting deputies for 2014-2015.
• Approved the hiring of two part-time crossing guards.
• Approved two alcohol beverage and operator’s licenses for Citgo and Walworth Cellars.
