Save the East County Courthouse!

As you may have read recently in the VC Star, the Ventura County Bar Association has been working closely with our local Superior Court (Presiding Judge O’Neill, Court Exec. Officer Mike Planet) and local officials (Supervisor Peter Foy, Simi Valley Mayor Bob Huber, former Simi City Manager Mike Sedell) to try to save the East County Courthouse (in Simi) from being closed completely. 

The proposal is for all the major cities in Ventura County to make a financial contribution for a temporary 2-year period to maintain limited services at the East County Courthouse – namely, one Commissioner sitting 2 days per week to handle small claims, traffic, unlawful detainer, criminal arraignment and restraining order matters.  (Annually, $275,000 is needed to maintain these services at the East County Courthouse.) 

If this courthouse is closed and the 17,000 cases (annually) are then transferred to Ventura, people can expect delays in access to justice caused by a backlog of cases, resulting in longer wait times for hearings, lines at the filing window in Ventura, traffic on the already congested 101 freeway between Thousand Oaks and Ventura, and parking problems at the Ventura courthouse. 

The contribution amount being requested of each city is based upon their population and the relative impact caused by the court’s closure.  Several cities as well as the County have already approved this proposal.  We are now waiting for a few key cities such as Thousand Oaks to get onboard.  The breakdown is as follows:

City of Camarillo                     $15,000

City of Moorpark                     $25,000

City of Oxnard                         $30,000

City of Simi Valley                   $75,000

City of Thousand Oaks           $65,000

City of Ventura                        $15,000

County of Ventura                   $50,000

                                                __________

                                                $275,000

You can download the official agenda & supplemental packet for next Tuesday's T.O. City Council meeting.  We are the first item of business under the Department Reports (#9A).  

However, it looks like we will be fighting an uphill battle given that the recommendation is to NOT provide the funding requested.  
That’s why YOUR attendance and support at the July 17, 2012 meeting is even more important!  

Please invite all your friends and colleagues as well.