Shared Court Services Begins in January 2012

Hillsborough and Montgomery Townships will begin sharing their on Jan. 1, 2012, as part of a five-year arrangement aimed at reducing costs for each town.

The agreement,

As a result, Montgomery’s weekly court sessions will take place in the Hillsborough Municipal Courtroom. The courtroom administrative staff will be housed in Hillsborough, and Hillsborough will retain its judge, prosecutors, and other court personnel. Montgomery will retain its court administrator, though it will cut all other court personnel, according to Hillsborough Township Committeeman Frank DelCore.

Though the townships will share court costs, each will need separate filing systems for the court cases.

The towns expect to save about $80,000 per year each by sharing the court services. The agreement has Montgomery paying 30 percent of Hillsborough’s court operation expenses since its yearly case volume is about a third of Hillsborough’s.

The arrangement is open to adjustments should the case load increase, however. In addition, the agreement may be terminated by either township, as long as a termination notice is sent.

The decision to share the court services follows about a year of planning and a feasibility study both townships undertook in 2010. The study cost the towns $5,000, and analyzed the case volumes, staffing, equipment, facility requirements and operating costs for each town.