Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Record keeping has improved

Record keeping for the municipal court has improved, according to Municipal Judge Gene Hale.

Talking to the Prescott City Council at its regular meeting recently, Hale said the Municipal Clerk's subsidiary ledger now agrees with the police subsidiary ledger, and small claims court receipts are being made on a more timely basis.

In August, the council discussed problems with the Municipal Court as records were apparently not being kept properly, including bank statements not being brought up to date in a timely manner.

Hale said all bank reconciliations are now up-to-date, with all problems to be solved by the time the council meets again in October.

City Attorney Glenn Vasser said a criminal case was heard in Municipal Court, which proved costly to the city, but would have been more expensive had Vasser handled it.

The case involved a disorderly conduct charge near Hale's residence.

It has been tried once, Vasser said, with the defendant being found guilty, but appealing the decision.

Vasser has tried to get the case nolle prossed, but Hale has refused to allow it.

The second time the case went to trial, the jury was hung and no decision rendered.

"We have an obligation to pursue it, though it isn't a major offense," Vasser said. "It's been rescheduled a couple of times."

According to Vasser, it's rare to have a trial in Municipal Court, as most cases involved have the defendants plead guilty and pay the fine.

This hasn't been the way this case has gone, Vasser said, adding the defendant (who wasn't named) having the rights to appeal it all the way to the United States Supreme Court.

"With penalties getting stiffer," he said, "we could see more appeals. We've been fortunate, the city doesn't have many appeals. The county has more."

The disturbance, Vasser said, occurred in the city limits, making it a city case. "I feel it shouldn't be tried, but the Municipal Judge was one of the victims. We may not be able to get a jury to convict a second time."

According to Vasser, this is the first municipal case the city has had to try in several years.

In other business, Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Chamber of Commerce said the mural has now been sealed, with the work taking about two hours.

Now, work is underway to get the pocket park project done.

Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said there are three more prospects looking at Prescott and Nevada County since August.

One prospect was shown seven sites, six outside the Prescott city limits, in trying to fit the site needs for the industry involved.

The leadership session, he said, has been going well, with applications now being taken for the second session. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 10.