Politics & Government

St. George Dissolves Court, Contracts With County

Decision will help resolve lingering speed trap warrants.

At a board of aldermen meeting Thursday, the tiny city of St. George moved to shut down its court system and contract for court and judge services with St. Louis County instead.

With disincorporation of the municipality possibly on the horizon, the decision eliminates one of the few remaining government services that St. George provides itself.

The board of aldermen voted for the measure 4-2. Aldermen Nelda True and Herb Pyne voted against it.

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Mayor Carmen Wilkerson said the move should help resolve the hundreds of years-old traffic warrants that . Because St. George’s police department disbanded in 2009, prosecuting these citations would be difficult and expensive.

City attorney Paul Martin will begin working to dismiss the majority of these old cases.

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“This will probably take a couple months due to the sheer volume we are dealing with,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson said the elimination of the court also makes it nearly impossible for St. George to ever revive its notorious speed trap, .

“From this point forward, I can’t think of any way they could put the speed trap back into action,” Wilkerson said. “This is the end of an era.

“For all practical purposes, this pretty much puts the nail in the coffin of the St. George Department of Justice. Amen and hallelujah.”

The move also cuts a further $300 per month from the city’s payroll expenses by eliminating the need for a city judge. In June, the city chose to contract with the county for its building inspection and code enforcement, cutting the city’s building inspector, a $650 per month position.

Contracting with the county will not cost the city anything, but St. Louis County will collect any fines for citations processed by the court.


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