Wareham District Court will remain open this year, said State Representative Susan Williams Gifford last Tuesday.

"The $9 million put in through the supplemental budget took care of staffing issues," said Williams Gifford (R-Wareham) who along with Representative William Straus (D-Mattapoisett) co-sponsored the supplemental appropriations bill.

Wareham District Court was on a list of potential courthouse closures published earlier this year by the administrative arm of the state court system.

It was proposed that the Wareham District Court - the 28th busiest of the state's 65 district courts, but also a court that was leased, not owned, by the state - be consolidated with Plymouth County Court.

Local officials were concerned that this would reduce efficient service and lead to increased costs for towns, especially because police officers would need to travel an extra two-hour round trip to bring prisoners to the court, requiring overtime pay for them or their replacement. It would also mean that over half of the towns in Plymouth County would be served by one court.

Williams Gifford and Straus submitted the supplemental appropriations bill, arguing that the court was vital to the law-enforcement needs of southern Plymouth County.

The bill was approved by the state House of Representatives in early October.

Williams Gifford said that the court closure committee was then supposed to issue a report with their final recommendations. That report has not yet been released, but Robert A. Murphy, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told the New Bedford Standard-Times last week that the Wareham and New Bedford courts originally considered for closure were saved.

The $9 million will cover costs until June 2011, when the budget process begins again.

Williams Gifford said that she "will continue to be on the job to protect the court in the future should another 'consolidation effort' arise."