Elkins Picks City Judge
By ANTHONY GAYNOR, Staff WriterElkins Municipal Court is taking on some changes. On Thursday, Elkins City Council appointed a new municipal judge and passed the first reading of an ordinance that tack a fee onto the current fines.
Council unanimously voted to appoint former Elkins High School Principal Tom Pritt as a municipal judge. Councilwoman Karen Wilmoth, 4th Ward, said that as a former principal Pritt had to sit in judgment quite often.
"He will begin to work with Ben Shepler (current municipal judge) and then attend municipal judge training for one day in Charleston," Wilmoth said. "That is the only requirement to be a municipal judge."
Elkins City Attorney Rich Busch said, "I think it is a great selection. He has a long history in education and in discipline."
Busch said he is excited to work with Pritt in the future.
"He is going to be very fair and impartial," Busch said. "He has a good understanding of how government works."
Busch said he had the former principal as a government teacher in high school and he expects the judge to adapt to the new role quickly.
City Council also passed the first reading of Ordinance 80 which will establish a $60 municipal police training and equipment cost which will be assessed by the city against all people found guilty or who plead guilty in municipal court for all charges or citations except parking violations.
Busch said the ordinance is patterned off an ordinance the city of Buckhannon has been using.
According to the ordinance, West Virginia Code allows municipal courts to impose "reasonable costs as are established by the municipality's governing body, said court costs being in addition to the stimulatory established fine amounts imposed against persons standing convicted of offenses before any municipal court."
"We were trying to put the charges more on par with magistrate court and give the police department more money for equipment and training," Busch said.
According to Busch, a speeding ticket that currently imposes a fine of $97 will raise to $137 under the ordinance. The fine for being found guilty or pleading guilty to public intoxication will increase from $55 to $115 if the ordinance passes two more readings. Busch said only misdemeanor charges are heard in municipal court.
Capt. J.E. Batdorf said the new ordinance has the potential to bring in more money, but it will depend on the number of tickets issued. He said when he began as a police officer there was a full staff of 12 officers and three worked on a single shift. He said one officer would do nothing but run radar at different locations throughout his shift.
"This is a good thing," Batdorf said. "But, there will not be a big difference until we are a to full staff."
Batdorf informed the City Council that one officer is currently in training and an additional officer who has been hired has passed his polygraph and psychological tests. He will have to pass his medical examination. Batdorf said he hopes the additional officer will be in the police academy in January.
