Page 80 - Saginaw FY22 Adopted Annual Budget

CITY OF SAGINAW
DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION

2021-2022

MUNICIPAL COURT

The Municipal Court is located at City Hall and is staffed with a Court Administrator and a Court Clerk. Three
utility billing positions in the Water & Wastewater Department assist the Municipal Court and are paid from
the Enterprise Fund. The Accounts Payable Supervisor also assists and is paid from the General Fund.
This office is responsible for maintaining court records, processing clerical work, and administering daily
operations of the court such as issuing warrants, subpoenas, notices, receiving and maintaining court
dockets, perfecting appeal bonds, attending trials, and performing all duties prescribed by State Law. The
Municipal Court accepts payments in the form of cash, check, money order, debit card and credit card.
Citations may also be paid online.

The Municipal Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over violations of city ordinances. The Municipal
Court also has concurrent jurisdiction with justice of the peace courts over Class C misdemeanor criminal
cases within the City where the punishment, upon conviction, is by fine only. This court does not have
jurisdiction in most civil cases but does have limited civil jurisdiction in cases that involve owners of
dangerous dogs.

The Municipal Court Judge helps citizens understand what their options are regarding their citation. If they
want to offer explanations or defenses regarding their citation they must see the prosecutor. The prosecutor
is an attorney with the law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla and Elam. There are two types of trials, a jury
trial and a bench trial. A bench trial is held before the Municipal Court Judge and a jury trial is held before a
panel of the defendant's peers. Bench trials are generally held once a month, as needed. Jury trials are
scheduled for twice a year.

Juveniles that commit non-traffic violations are usually ordered to perform community service in lieu of
paying their citation. It is believed that juveniles are better held accountable for their actions by paying their
debt through community service.

This department has taken advantage of the availability of the Court Technology and the Court Security
Fees to purchase items not budgeted in the General Fund. These fees are collected as part of the citations
and are accounted for in the General Escrow Fund. Purchases from these Special Revenue Funds must be
approved by the Mayor and Council as required by ordinance and State law.

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