06142012 - News Article - Lake Station juggles 2 court deputies

Lake Station juggles 2 court deputies

Post-Tribune (IN) 

June 14, 2012

LAKE STATION — In a Wednesday night special meeting called less than a week after the mayor ’s stepdaughter was fired from her job with the city court, the City Council voted to strip two deputies’ jobs from the court and move them back to the clerk-treasurer’s budget. 

Miranda Brakley was the deputy terminated by City Judge Chris Anderson last week. 

The move highlighted the fallout between Mayor Keith Soderquist and Anderson. The two were political allies and friends when they first took office in 2008. 

Anderson could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. 

The two jobs were under the clerk-treasurer’s budget until November 2008, when the council voted to move the jobs to the court’s budget. With the Wednesday vote, the council returned the positions to their original budget item, but they still will work with the court, city attorney Ray Szarmach said. 

Soderquist , who enjoys the support of most of the council, insisted the council’s move was not a political or personal vendetta. He also suggested Anderson fired Brakley because the judge may have heard the two jobs would be stripped from his court. 

“(Brakley’s termination) possibly could be retaliation because (Anderson) got wind the council would do this,” he said. 

Clerk-Treasurer Brenda Samuels said she likely will rehire Brakley as a deputy working with the city court. 

“It will only make sense, since I don’t really know the court,” Samuels said. 

Soderquist said the council has been weighing the move since revenue from the court began plummeting two years ago. 

According to Soderquist , the city court — with an annual budget of $200,000, including the two deputy spots — has seen revenue from fees and citations drop from about $150,000 in 2009 to $58,000 last year. 

Police Chief Kevin Garber said his officers have been frustrated by what he called the judge’s frequent waiving of court fees and citations for offenders, which means less revenue for the city and his department. 

“I don’t know exactly how much we’re supposed to be collecting, but, obviously, if the city is collecting a third of what we used to collect, then that’s way less revenue for the department,” said Garber, adding his officers have been issuing about 500 tickets and citations a month since he took office in January.