Beginning next year, the city of Herculaneum will no longer operate its Municipal Court.
In an effort to save money, the Board of Alderpersons voted 4-2 on Aug. 19 to eliminate the court and have associate judges with the 23rd Circuit Court of Jefferson County hear cases involving violations of the city of Herculaneum’s municipal ordinances. The two Ward 1 aldermen, Dennis Tesreau and Mike Burlage, voted against the change.
The change will take effect Jan. 1, 2025.
Herculaneum Municipal Court handles cases about city ordinance violations that do not involve accident or injury; do not involve the operation of a commercial motor vehicle; and for which the Department of Revenue is authorized to assess no more than four points to a person’s driving record.
Herculaneum City Administrator Dusty Hosna said the cases the Municipal Court handles usually involve minor traffic violations and municipal violations.
By having a Jefferson County associate circuit judge in Hillsboro hear those cases, the city will be able to eliminate the Herculaneum Municipal Court and save money, he said.
Hosna said the cost of maintaining the Municipal Court is high, almost $100,000 a year to serve the town of around 4,300 residents. Some of those costs include the pay for the full-time Municipal Court clerk, Kelly Sullivan; for the prosecuting attorney, Mark Bishop; and for Municipal Court Judge Scott Harness.
Sullivan currently is paid $47,673 per year, and Harness is paid $350 per month. City officials said they didn’t know at the time what Bishop is paid for his prosecuting attorney duties because he also does other work for the city, like attending board meetings.
Harness has served as Herculaneum Municipal Court judge since 2004 and was reelected for another two-year term in April 2024, running unopposed for the position.
Harness was at the Aug. 19 meeting and encouraged the board to retain the Herculaneum Municipal Court.
He reminded the board that the court meets at night, which benefits residents who otherwise would have to take off work to attend Jefferson County Circuit Court hearings during the day, adding that the Herculaneum Municipal Court is more convenient for residents since they don’t have to drive to Hillsboro.
The Herculaneum Municipal Court is held the first Wednesday of each month in the Board of Aldermen Chambers in Herculaneum City Hall, beginning at 6 p.m.
Harness also mentioned the convenience of having the court in the building shared with the Herculaneum Police Station since officers who need to testify are already on site. By turning over Municipal Court cases to the Jefferson County Circuit Court, officers will have to drive to Hillsboro on trial days, making them unavailable to respond to calls in Herculaneum.
Herculaneum Mayor Ryan Wright said more officers are on duty during the day, leaving enough officers available to respond to calls.
Wright also said the city had received a letter of support for the change from Herculaneum Police Chief Sharia Kyle.
Harness spoke about the benefits of having a judge and prosecutor who are familiar with the Herculaneum area.
“They talk about an intersection, and I know what they’re talking about. I know that intersection; I drive by it all the time. Whereas, you could get an associate circuit judge who may not be familiar with how the streets are set up here.”
Harness also said the Herculaneum Municipal Court operates well.
“We’re one of the few municipal courts that has not been cited for any violations by OSCA (Office of State Courts Administrator). We pass every year with flying colors,” he said.
Tesreau, a retired lawyer who was the longtime Herculaneum city attorney, also spoke against the closure of the court.
“Our officers are more available; they’re in Herculaneum. We can dispatch them some place very quickly. They’re not sitting around all morning or all afternoon,” he said.
Tesreau also said he had not heard any complaints about the court during Harness’s tenure.
He also pushed back on the idea that the court has operated at a deficit.
“A court does not exist to make money,” he said.
Hosna said the passage of Missouri Senate Bill 5 in 2015 has made it more expensive to keep the Municipal Court open.
“It’s made it more and more difficult and more costly to operate courts, and for that reason our board decided to turn the court over to the county,” Hosna said.
Hosna said the ruling required courts to use new software, Show-Me Courts, and changing software meant clerks had to get new training.
He said the process for becoming an OSCA certified clerk is a stringent one.
“It’s good for our criminal justice system, but at the same time, it made it really difficult for municipalities to keep up,” Hosna said.
“We’re required by law to keep somebody here 30 hours a week to take payments for tickets. With vacations and sick days, stuff like that, in order to keep that, we’d have to hire another person, and that is just not in the budget at the current moment,” Wright said.
Hosna said that until the Municipal Court closes at the end of this year, the city will focus on transferring current court records to Hillsboro and disposing of old records.
Hosna said Sullivan will stay on until the court closes at the end of the year.
Harness said he was sorry to see the Municipal Court dissolved.
“I’ve been the municipal judge since 2004. I’m very proud that the citizens of Herculaneum entrusted me with the office,” Harness said. “I was the only elected municipal judge in Jefferson County, and I felt that gave the citizens a lot of accountability with their court. I learned a lot and I enjoyed it.”