As you know, the Conference Committee version of the fiscal year 2011 state budget came before the House yesterday for a final vote.  While there are plenty of issues I have with the final product which warranted my vote in opposition, there is one which I am particularly pleased to see included - and it impacts those of us in Wareham, Carver, Marion, Lakeville, Middleborough, Mattapoisett and Rochester.

As you may know, Wareham District Court is on the list of potential courthouse closures.  When the proposal of closing Wareham was brought to my attention by District Attorney Tim Cruz, I spoke immediately with Representative Bill Straus.  Together, with Rep. Straus' quick action, we were able to include the protective language in the House Budget.  While I was the chief sponsor of the amendment, it would not have been possible without both District Attorney Cruz and Representative Straus who deserve at least as much credit for their vigilance and effective response.

We were equally successful in seeing that the language was included in the Conference Committee version of the budget, even though the Senate had not included the protective language.

Let me tell you why closing Wareham District Court is a bad idea.  It will not save any significant money for the state, but will cost towns and local taxpayers more, and it will costs those who use the court untold hours in additional wait times and commuting time.

In a meeting with the Chief Justice, he indicated that he has no plans to lay-off any employees - but simply will move them around to different courts.  While a longer commute rather than unemployment is certainly good news for court employees, I take that to mean that there will be minimal savings from closing the Wareham District Court (28th busiest of the state's 65 courts), other than the rent paid by the state to the county.

It does mean some real costs however to the rest of us.  There are the economic costs for the businesses in the area supported by the Court, whether the gas station around the corner or local lunch spots.  The loss of hundreds of people per day to that location will cost people in the private sector some jobs.

It also means that if you need to use the court, you will need to travel to exit 5 in Plymouth, where the volume of cases will rise steeply due to the Wareham caseload moving there.  So not only will you need to drive an extra hour, you will also need to wait longer to be served.  That means everything from restraining orders, small claims cases and juvenile court hearings will move to Plymouth - along with criminal trials, show cause hearings and ticket hearings.  It also means that more than 50% of the towns in Plymouth County will be using the same court.  Gone will be the days of people familiar with the usual suspects or the historical information needed to ensure justice is truly handed out.

Not only will you need to travel longer, but our police officers will need to travel further.  Transporting a drunk driver for a hearing will now be an extra two hour round trip - and will cost the municipal tax payers more.  When officers must appear in court to support criminal cases or a summer renter fighting a speeding ticket, our towns must often pay that officer overtime - or if it is on his shift, we pay overtime to a replacement officer.  So that two hour extra round trip will cost each town thousands of dollars more in the police budget.

As usual, the State is proposing changes which will not save them much and will not reduce state employees.  Instead it will cost us private sector jobs and cost our towns more money.  We need to put the brakes on this, review it thoroughly and cut state costs which do not put a higher burden on towns like ours.

This language will require the Chief Justice to submit a court closure plan and give us 90 days to respond.  By slowing down the process, we can ensure ill-conceived plans like this are reviewed thoroughly and stopped.  This particular plan is bad for Wareham, and the other communities that use the court, which is why Rep. Straus, D.A. Cruz and I fought diligently for this first step in stopping it.

Rep. Susan Williams Gifford

R-Wareham