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Just West of Waconia on Hwy 5 952-442-5000 |
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Sebenaler Chiropractic Center Chaska * 952-448-9908 |
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CORNERSTONE Insurance Agency David Barsness * 952-448-5028 |
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8661 Deer Run Dr. * Victoria 952-443-2351 |
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MACKENTHUN’S MEAT & DELI St. Bonifacius * 952-446-1234 |
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Dine in Downtown Victoria * 952-443-2858 |
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952-442-4411 |
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“Trees Are Our Roots” 8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990 |
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Island View Dining Waconia. 952-442-2956 |
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VICTORIA HAS 9.3% OF CRIME INCIDENTS AMONG TEN CITIES IN CARVER COUNTY Carver County Attorney Jim Keeler spoke to councilmembers September 14th about the 2010 joint prosecution contract whereby Carver County prosecutes adult gross misdemeanors, misdemeanors, and petty misdemeanors that occur in the City of Victoria. Stated Mr. Keeler, who became the county attorney in 2007, “We are Victoria’s criminal city attorney. We currently have16 attorneys with 157 combined years of practice and 136 combined years of prosecution. You, the purchaser, should know what you are buying.” He identified adult gross misdemeanors as repeat offenders; misdemeanors as DWI’s, damage to property, domestic assaults; and petty misdemeanors as traffic violations and speeding, for example. He said that beginning in 2010, violations of criminal city ordinances will be prosecuted by the county at no additional fee to the city. “These type of cases are few in number,” said Mr. Keeler, “and, frankly, they are a headache to keep track of hours and charges.” He clarified that civil city ordinances will still be handled by City Attorney Mike Norton. Mr. Keeler said that 10 cities in Carver County participate in the contract and the total expense for the caseloads of the 10 cities in 2010 is anticipated to be $203,929. “This represents only the salaries of the staff needed, two attorneys and one paralegal. A city’s share of expense is equal to the city’s share of the caseload.” He explained that the county’s expense in prosecuting the caseload for the city is covered by fine revenue generated by the prosecution case (54%), the city contract (34%), and a county subsidy (going from 14% to 12% in 2010). “The county subsidy is decreasing to 12% this year and eventually to zero,” said Mr. Keller, “so that cities hiring the service pay for the service. Contract rates will be directly related to a city’s fluctuations in caseload.” Total prosecution contract caseload for Victoria went from 89 in 2007 to 139 in 2008. “That’s a considerable spike,” he said. Prosecuting juvenile cases, which is a county service mandated by the state statute and not part of the city-county contract, went from 45 in 2007 to 73 in 2008. To help cities weather significant spikes in caseloads, Mr. Keeler said they use a three-year average to determine each of the 10 cities’ share of contract cost. Victoria’s 2006-2008 average (103 cases) amounts to 9.3% of total cases handled by the county. Of the 10 cities served by the Carver County Prosecution Contract, Hamburg has the lowest three-year average (5) which is a .4% of total cases handled, while Chaska has the highest three-year average (590) which is 52.7% of total cases handled. In ascending order: Hamburg (5), New Germany (11), Mayer (15), Cologne (22), Carver (42), Watertown (60), Victoria (103), NYA (103), Waconia (167), Chaska (590). In 2009 the City of Victoria’s prosecution contract cost $5,132. The proposed amount for 2010 is $6,436. “Your cost is more than covered by the fine revenue,” said Mr. Keeler. The City of Victoria generated $15,761 in fine revenue in 2008. *** Asked Councilmember Kim Roden, “To what do you attribute the large increase in misdemeanors?” “I’m not sure,” replied Mr. Keeler. “Officers are being better trained, more familiar with the cities, better enforcement. I can’t say tonight if it’s due to more DWI’s or more domestic assaults but I can get those statistics for you.” Councilmember Roden asked for reasons the juvenile caseload for Victoria increased. Mr. Keeler replied, “For a small community you could have one Saturday night incident with 25 underage alcohol consumption cases as a result, and that would throw a number out of whack.” He was asked why Chanhassen does not use the county’s prosecution services. “The City of Chanhassen is the only city without a prosecution agreement with the county. They’ve hired a private attorney. I could only speculate, but I honestly don’t know.” Administrator Don Uram indicated the agreement will probably be acted on by councilmembers in October.
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October 2009 |
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