Gov. Mike Leavitt continues to study a proposed $75 million Salt Lake County courts complex that backers want to have placed on the Legislature's agenda. The governor will make a decision in early January but has voiced some "concerns" about the scope and concept of the project.
While Leavitt is certainly right in taking a hard look at such a significant project, there shouldn't be much doubt about justification for the complex. It was recommended after years of study by officials in the judicial system as well as outside experts.The complex would consolidate court systems currently scattered over much of the Salt Lake Valley, replacing limited courtroom facilities with carefully crafted generic-sized courts that could be used interchangeably by district, circuit and juvenile courts - something that is not now possible.
This consolidation would reduce the need for future additional courtrooms in several jurisdictions and might require fewer judges to be named in the future. Because the courts would be located in a single facility, judges from different jurisdictions would be able to help each other when they had space on their court calendars.
Security for handling prisoners would be better and the complex would save money on leases and other costs. This is not small change but rather millions of dollars, savings that would help pay for the complex. For all of his concerns, Leavitt admits that "the consolidation looks economically advantageous."
Given the fact that the complex would be built with revenue bonds to be financed chiefly by new filing fees for court documents and would not require any tax increase, the case for the project looks unbeatable.
Leavitt says that while consolidation has many advantages, having scattered facilities might be more convenient for people who use the courts. But that issue has been thoroughly studied as a part of exploring the consolidation concept. It seems redundant to go back to square one at this late date.
As far as convenience is concerned, the bulk of the lawyers who would be using the complex are in the downtown area. If they had to travel to outlying courts, they would simply bill their clients for the extra time. Most people would probably rather pay the lawyers less money and come to a central courts complex themselves.
In any case, the Salt Lake Valley is not a megalopolis like Los Angeles or Houston. A central complex would be relatively easily accessible to anyone needing to reach the courts.
Leavitt also voices concern about the scope of the project, as well as what he calls its opulence. It's true that the complex will of necessity be a large one, but there do not appear to be any plans to build a judicial Taj Mahal. If the money invested in a consolidated courts complex is to be well-used, the facility must be large enough that it will not become outdated before it is paid for.
Plans call for the project to be started in 1994 and completed in less than four years. The higher filing fees would raise more than $10 million within that time. Since debt service on the revenue bonds would not start until fiscal 1999, the $10 million could be used to lower the total bonded cost of the complex.
The governor worries that such "fast track" construction could lead to out-of-control building costs. But a stronger argument can be made in the other direction. A fast track could avoid annual rising construction costs. And Leavitt doesn't like projects done in phases. His general obligation bond projects are planned for a six-year maximum.
In the final analysis, the courts complex would serve the judicial system - and thus the public - more effectively, at less cost and without any significant impact on taxpayers or the state budget. That seems to be an unassailable argument for going ahead.