Sheriff, judges push officials for courthouse security

CELINA - A united front of elected Mercer County officials - two judges and the sheriff - this week made the case to county commissioners for securing the courthouse and eventually limiting access to one door.

Sheriff Jeff Grey had made a similar plea to commissioners in the past. However, this time, apparently to bolster his cause, he brought with him common pleas court judge Jeffery Ingraham, common pleas probate/juvenile court judge Matt Gilmore and a pair of county employees.

They told commissioners they want to apply for an Ohio Supreme Court technology grant that could bring in as much as $150,000 to help them secure the court in phases. Time is of the essence as the grant submission deadline is Feb. 16.

Commissioner Jerry Laffin expressed support but neither commissioners Greg Homan nor Rick Muhlenkamp would commit to the proposal. Homan said commissioners will render a decision by Tuesday, the day before the grant application is due, after giving the request more thought and discussion.

Currently, one deputy is assigned to the courthouse. But far too often the deputy has to leave the courthouse on other duties, such as serving warrants, transporting inmates, etc., Grey said. When the deputy is out sick or on vacation, the courthouse is left uncovered for extended periods of time, leaving county officials vulnerable, he said.

"At this time we are unable to provide what we feel is adequate security to the employees that work there and the citizens who do business there," Grey wrote in a proposal. "We feel that with the implementation of each of the (security) phases, it would mean greater security with each step."

The proposed security plan, if fully enacted, would entail an initial purchase of equipment that includes an X-ray machine, metal detector, door locks/alarms and handheld wands estimated to cost $75,039, plus yearly maintenance. However, the steepest expense would come from adding two more full-time deputies assigned exclusively to the courthouse. Officials peg the costs for wages and benefits at roughly $200,000 annually.

"I've been saying this for a long time. One of these days we're going to look silly," Grey said. "It's not that we have a bunch of people in Mercer county that would go do something. It only takes one."

A state grant could possibly cover the cost of phase one - acquiring some equipment and adding one additional deputy. However, the grant requires a letter from funding authorities - in this case county commissioners - confirming their intent to spend the dollars as applied for, court financial administrator Mandy Bennett said.

Ingraham said there's no point in pursuing state funds without commissioners' upfront support.

"Otherwise we probably shouldn't be applying for a grant that we're not going to accept," Ingraham said. "Because the grant application has a ... requirement for written approval of the commissioners to apply for the grant."

Commissioners of-
fered little in the way of feedback or dialogue, and their brief session with county officials was marked at times by awkward silence.

Muhlenkamp asked the judges for their thoughts on the proposal.

Noting he has one year of judgeship under his belt but many years of experience practicing law in the courthouse, Gilmore said there have been occasions when a deputy has had to be called. The potential is always there for situations to go haywire and certain parties to "lash out in whatever way," Gilmore said.

Speaking more directly to security, Gilmore noted he can't say that he's personally felt unsafe on a day-to-day basis but pointed out he hasn't been in office long enough to upset enough people.

"I look around at the other counties before I took the bench. The vast majority of them now have gone to one entrance and beefed up security," Gilmore said. "For me personally, it's going to have to happen at some point so it's really a question of when, when is the right time?"

Ingraham echoed Gilmore's assessment.

"Sooner or later this is probably what's going to end up having to be addressed," he said.

With grant funding available to assist with startup costs, Ingraham said now may be the right time.

"I don't know of any other courthouses in the state that have no physical security in getting in them," he said. "I think it's probably more of an issue for the number of staff people that work in the courthouse."

Muhlenkamp pointed out that members of the public often visit the courthouse for reasons other than the court. The courthouse contains the county board of elections, recorder, auditor, treasurer and community development offices.

Also, should a proposed 10-year renewal of a 0.5% sales to pay to operate and maintain the county jail fail at the May 3 primary election, revenue collections would diminish, Muhlenkamp said. Additionally, the biggest chunk of the county general fund goes to law enforcement, he noted.

Muhlenkamp asked how the multi-phase security proposal would unfold if approved.

"If we get the grant and the decision's made to shut down the courthouse there's going to have to be an awful lot of meetings and an awful lot of decisions," Grey said.

Officials would have to consider whether or not to require employees to go through metal detectors and other issues.

"Who's allowed to carry firearms through there? Is it all cops? I would recommend nobody carries a firearm in the courthouse unless it's in a level three holster so somebody can't disarm them," Grey said. "There's a whole bunch of stuff that has to be discussed. It's not as easy as, 'Let's put this equipment in and lock these doors."

Muhlenkamp said he would like hear how the public feels about the idea.

The grant would provide for the first year of security but after that it would be on commissioners to make up the difference, Muhlenkamp said.

"And if somebody gets hurt in the courthouse it's on you guys," Grey responded.

Commissioner Jerry Laffin voiced support for the proposal.

"I feel we need to do it. Whatever you two think," Laffin said.