The administration wants to back off on creating the city's own justice court to handle minor cases, but the City Council isn't budging.
Blame it on the llama.Council Chairman Stuart Reid uses the example of the stuffed animal tacked to the roof of a home in his northwest district to illustrate why the city should forge ahead with its own municipal court.
Along with the llama, used tires litter the roof of the home. Pressure from neighbors who want it cleaned up has failed.
So the city cited the owner with an ordinance violation. The matter moved to court - and stalled there, Reid said. A Third Circuit Court judge has granted three 90-day stays to give the homeowner a chance to comply with city codes.
"I'm for a harder line here," Reid said.
The council voted 5-1 in a straw poll Thursday to give notice July 1 to the state that it will set up its own municipal court next year. The council will pass a formal resolution on its plans for a justice court as part of approving the budget June 8.
Council members said that with the serious felony cases flooding the courts, violations of city ordinances tend to get brushed aside. They fear the low priority given city cases will only get worse when the Third Circuit and District courts are consolidated, proposed for 1996, and judges handle a mix of minor and felony cases.
Salt Lake City Mayor Deedee Corradini initially shared the council's view. She recommended in the proposed 1995-96 budget the city give the state notice July 1 that it will begin operating a justice court in 1996. The court would handle misdemeanor, traffic and small-claims cases.
In the Salt Lake Valley, municipal justice courts already operate in the county, Alta, Bluffdale, Draper, Midvale, Riverton, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan and South Salt Lake.
State law requires that new municipal courts begin operating in even-numbered years; if the city doesn't act in 1996, it will have to wait two years.
Corradini's proposal had two aims: to improve processing of city cases and to capture revenue generated by those cases. The mayor's staff projected the city could reap as much as $1.2 million if it ran its own court.
Corradini said the city could set up its court in space the Third Circuit Court will vacate when it moves to a new court complex. But the courts won't move into the new building until 1998, which means the city would need to find temporary accommodations.
But since making the recommendation, Corradini has heard from the Administrative Office of the Courts. The courts have tried to allay the city's concerns and vowed to provide better service. Corradini told the council she wants to withdraw her recommendation and give the state court a chance to perform.
In a letter to the city, Judge Pamela T. Greenwood, interim state court administrator, said once the two courts consolidate, her office will either create a special "city division" or assign special calendars to city cases so they aren't intermixed with other actions.
But that failed to reassure the council city that cases would get better treatment.
"It's a bit too much to expect that a judge will give ordinance violations the same consideration as murder and mayhem," said Councilman Keith Christensen. "I'd like to see a municipal court and I'd like to see it sooner than later."
Representatives of Salt Lake County's Justice Court also encouraged the council to set up a court. The county justice court offered to handle the city's cases on a permanent or interim basis until it can do so.