Ind. Courts - Yet more on "St. Joseph County Probate Judge to issue pay raises despite council's objections."
Updating earlier ILB entries, including this latest one from Feb. 25th, WNDU South Bend has this brief report:
St. Joseph County has challenged a judge's attempt to mandate pay raises for eight workers at the Juvenile Justice Center.The Supreme Court has posted an Order Referring Case for Mediation, dated March 2. It deals with three matters: (1) real estate acquired and used for the juvenile justice center; (2) the funding of building and structural repairs and equipment for the center; and (3) the appropriation of funds from the juvenile probation services fund for certain salary increases.This week, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered that the case go to mediation.
Both sides have 15-days to select a mediator, or the Supreme Court will assign one to the case.
St. Joseph County Probate Court Judge Peter Nemeth sought to use his judicial mandate powers to order double digit pay raises for eight employees.
The raises were to be funded by fees paid by juvenile offenders--as opposed to tax dollars.
The Supreme Court's Order states that, on Feb. 4th, it had amended TR 60.5, based upon recommendations of the Indiana Judges Association and the Indiana Association of Counties: "One of the new amendments to TR 60.5 authorizes this Court to order the parties to submit their dispute to mediation at any time in the process."
This is an effort to resolve the continuing problem at the local level between the local courts and the local government units with respect to control over finances. This ILB entry from Sept. 5, 2008 gives an overview of the problem. This paragraph indicates that thought was being given at that time to reviewing TR 60.5:
Re Rule 60.5, the CJ said it was adopted by the Court at the request of the counties, to establish something more orderly, a forum to address concerns of the counties in the 1970s and 80s. Our Court's view, said CJ Shepard, is that TR 60.5 is printed on paper, not carved in stone. In the last six months, the Indiana Judges Association has asked the Indiana Association of Counties to meet and talk about TR 60.5. The Supreme Court, he concluded, is open to restructuring.Here is the revised wording of TR 60.5.
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