HalifaxTalk.com

[Jeff Oakes]

I read, with interest, the recent story in the Gazette-Virginian about enhancing courtroom security in Halifax. In these days of budget shortfalls, with threats of lost positions, how can the County afford the costs associated with these new security personnel? Equally disturbing to me is the proposal made by Mr. Noblin, in the form of a memo, to the Board of Supervisors at their annual retreat and the facts purported in the article.

Annually, the fees recovered from fines imposed by local judges averaged about $25K. The State Compensation Board has a formula for allocating deputies for each locality, including courtroom/civil process/transportation positions. Each year, agencies report the number of days each court is in session as well as the number of transports and civil papers served. Based on those figures, deputies are allocated or reassigned in each sheriffs' office in the Commonwealth.

Several years ago, at the request of then senior Circuit Court Judge William Wellons, I asked for a study of building and courtroom security at the Halifax courthouse. The findings of that study were provided to the Board of Supervisors and the consensus was to make only minor modifications to the overall security of the building until such time as more funding became available. A former county administrator had proposed reversing the circuit courtroom so that all traffic would enter the complex through a single front entrance. (The historic nature of the building ended that discussion.) With handicap access providing free passage to all levels of the building, security was forever compromised.

As a taxpayer and concerned citizen, I would ask our Commonwealth Attorney Kim White (or Mr. Noblin) to provide the number of days the respective courts were in session for the last 4-5 years. (If memory serves me correctly, I think Circuit Court averaged about 80 days a year, with General District and J&DR having court about 100 days annually.) Court days vary each week and there are few days with all three courts in session at the same time. Likewise, Mr. Noblin has three captains and a major assigned to day shift and all are very familiar with courtroom protocol. Additionally, the Comp Board has always recognized any law enforcement officer, present in the courtroom, as courtroom security personnel. FYI, the Mecklenburg courtroom not only utilizes metal detectors but has an x-ray machine in use to search bags, purses, etc.

[wildhandyman]

The courtroom is not the only security hole in that decrepit old building. In the interest of safety it may be time to start thinking of physically moving the court and the attending personnel to a different location altogether. Maybe the court building could be used as a museum or for some other unimportant use.

[Duck]

I agree that the building would be difficult to make secure. Worked in the Courthouse for almost 30 years and know there are "seven ways to Sunday" to get into that building without going thru security of any kind or without being seen for that matter.

There are 3 courts housed there, spread over all the building. There are nooks and crannies in which to hide and entrances that are not securable. Not only that, there are offices attending the courts which also are not secured.

I question that securing the building as it now stands is possible. WHM is right I think, but a proposal to move the courts elsewhere has already met with opposition as it would probably mean moving them out of the town of Halifax. That would spell the end for Halifax.

At one time there was a major push to move the Juvenile Court to a new place, perhaps the Mary Bethune Office Complex. But the same problem would exist, how to secure it and that would not solve the problems for Gen Dist. or Ct Ct.

The other option that I heard was the old Halifax Elementary School...but that would meet with some fierce opposition just from resident on Mt. Road and it is easy to see why. Another site mentioned was Spencers' Hill near Toot Creek Antiques...but since that time a couple of businesses have located there.

It is an ongoing problem but the solutions are difficult and are going to cost money that the county can ill afford to spend. On the other hand it is a miracle that nothing has happened in one of the courts yet. The most dangerous of the three is the Juvenile Court because of the nature of the cases heard there. We are indeed fortunate that nothing bad has happened...yet.

[Tarheel]

[mw]

I have some problems with this. The U.S. government and Halifax County government are the only ones I know of that are actually adding jobs in this economy. Keep in mind we are contributing 12m dollars more in taxes now than we were in 2002. The insanity needs to stop.
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The Lord gives, government taxes it away.

[Tarheel]

[1093ras]

I have decided to leave this decision to the ones who have to deal with courtroom security on a daily (or almost daily) basis...and be glad it is not me!
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Blessed are they who can give without remembering and take without forgetting
(Author unknown)

Posted by Bunny Propst

[mw]

Court Room security is a serious matter, so is the doubling of taxes in seven short years. The insanity needs to stop, but I know it won't.
_________________
The Lord gives, government taxes it away.

[Tarheel]

[tom mclaughlin]

Taxes have doubled?

Really?

[Tarheel]

[mw]

[Tarheel]

_________________
“Among natural rights are these: first, a right to life; secondly, to liberty; thirdly to property; together with the right to support and defend them in the best manner they can.” ---> Samuel Adams

[tom mclaughlin]

Well, I admit, I had to go back and look at this one before taking Wayne Conner at his word. Turns out he's somewhat right: in 2002 the per capita local tax burden in Halifax County was $462.52. In 2009 it was $839.82. Of course 2002 dollars aren't worth what they are today; if you assume 3% annual inflation taxpayers in 2002 were paying the equivalent of $590 in today's dollars. You can look up the numbers yourself at the website of the Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts here:

http://www.apa.state.va.us/LocalGovernment/ComparativeReportarchive.cfm

It's worth noting that the real estate tax rate, adjusted for rising assessments, has actually changed very little from 2002 to 2009. Part of the reason for rising tax collections is growth in the taxable property base. Can't exactly remember when the new Wal-Mart opened, but you would agree that an event like that would boost tax collections? I think a better question for Wayne Conner to answer is, if local tax collections have risen so much, why hasn't the county's annual school contribution not risen accordingly?

And Tarheel, while it's a fairly obvious point, fees for water and sewer are not the same as taxes.

On the subject of the courthouse, yes it's a security risk, as WHM and Duck pointed out, and yes, it'll be expensive to fix. Judges (more specifically, the Supreme Court of VA) are not powerless to demand that changes be made. Mecklenburg built a new courthouse complex and the county adopted biannual tax payments to finance the construction (split tax payments have the effect of creating of one-time windfall for counties and cities). In light of what others have experienced, Halifax County should consider itself lucky to get as much use out of the courthouse as it has.

[tom mclaughlin]

And by the way, I just wasted 20 minutes of my life putting together this short summary.