Atlanta - September 16, 2003 - Mayor Shirley Franklin released today her plan to consolidate the city’s court operations. Building on the recommendations provided to her in April by the six-member Court Review Panel, the Mayor has approved a plan that will significantly reduce the costs of providing court services to the citizens of Atlanta while at the same time protecting and enhancing the independence and fairness of court proceedings.
"The analysis of the Court Review Panel, and the subsequent work by the Boston Consulting Group, has made it very clear to me that our courts are not functioning at the level we need them to. I am convinced that the implementation of the consolidation plan prepared by BCG is absolutely necessary for us to create a courts system that is “best in class”.”
BCG estimates that the city can save over $7 million annually by consolidating the back office operations currently run independently by the City (Traffic) Court and the Municipal Court.
In addition to the back office consolidation plan, the Mayor will request that the State Assembly abolish the City Court and that the City Council expand of the authority of the Municipal Court to hear traffic cases. The plan targets a total number of nine judges in the new Municipal Court following a transition period. The reduction in courtroom staff associated with the reduction in the number of judges should produce additional savings of over $3 million.
“Atlanta is the only municipality in the state that has a separate city court to hear traffic cases”, Mayor Franklin said. “Not only is that a luxury we cannot afford, we see no evidence that the citizens of Atlanta receive a higher level of service under this structure. We have sought out advice from the National Center for State Courts and from judges and court experts from inside and outside of Georgia, all of whom support the course of action we are proposing.”
Under the Mayor’s plan, the full cost of running the court system will fall from over $29 million in 2003 to slightly less than $19 million by 2006.
The newly configured Municipal Court will be housed in the new court building currently under construction, pending the passage of the required city and state legislation
Until the legislative agenda is completed next year, courtroom functions will continue to operate as they have in the past. The City anticipates no disruption in the operations of the courts as a result of the consolidation.
The Mayor expressed her thanks for those who worked on this effort. “Let me start by thanking the members of both courts, both the judges and the administrative staffs, who at all times shared our vision for a more efficient and effective courts system. They worked closely with us in developing this plan of action. I want to particularly thank Chief Judge Riley and Chief Judge Graves for their leadership in this effort."
“I also want to thank the Boston Consulting Group. At no cost to the city, BCG put an extremely talented team in place, led by Senior Vice President and Managing Officer Joerg Matthiessen. For four months they tackled a very challenging issue and we couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of their work and the professionalism of their team. We could not have gotten here without them.
“Finally, I want to thank Byron Attridge and the rest of the Court Review Panel who initiated this effort and who have continued to provide us with leadership and advice on this issue.”
Review the Attridge Panel and the Boston Consulting Group Reports.
Boston Consulting Group Courts Report
Attridge Panel Courts Review Report
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