CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — Closing three satellite courthouses could save northwestern Indiana's Lake County more than $1 million a year, although some officials say doing so would deny easy access to the courts for many residents.
A review by the county commissioners' attorney found that closing the courthouses in East Chicago, Gary and Hammond also could mean nearly 80 fewer workers would be needed in consolidated operations at the government center in Crown Point.
Some County Council members and commissioners suggested closing the courthouses as they've looked in recent months for ways to cut millions of dollars in the wake of property tax shortfalls.
Attorney John Dull said the county could save $1.1 million a year that it is now spending on utilities, maintenance and security guards at the three satellite courthouses. The job cuts could include 26 deputy clerks and 21 janitors. That estimate does not include court personnel, which could significantly raise the savings.
Dull told The Times of Munster that the county would face spending about $22 million for building new offices and remodeling work to accommodate a move of the seven court offices from the three locations to Crown Point.
Lake Superior Court Judge Calvin Hawkins, whose courtroom is in East Chicago, said Lake County's poor public transportation system makes a perhaps 20-mile trip to Crown Point difficult for many in the northern part of the county, where the satellite courthouses are located.
"Even before becoming a judge here I supported keeping all the satellite offices open," said.
The idea of closing the courthouses has been attacked by commissioners and council members representing Gary, Hammond and East Chicago, who say the move would also leave abandoned buildings in their already struggling downtowns.
Commissioners Fran DuPey of Hammond and Roosevelt Allen of Gary vetoed hiring a fiscal expert to study possible savings from a courthouse consolidation.
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