COUNTY ASSOCIATE COURT TO PROCESS MACON MUNICIPAL COURT CASES

On August 14th, 2018, the Macon City Council voted unanimously (7-0) to drop the processing of cases in the City Municipal Court, directing current and future cases toward the Macon County Associate Court. This decision came after the two employees employed by the city for the municipal court, administered their two-week notice of departure. Several Councilmen and the City Clerk saw an opportunity to save money as well as, to align themselves with similar cities and towns throughout the state. Reported by Jeremy Kohler of the St. Louis Dispatch, the Missouri Supreme Court has ordered the consolidation of several municipal court operations in smaller communities with other area court operations specifically in the St. Louis Area. It is important to note that cities and towns do have the authority to drop municipal court operations which then those cases and future cases become the responsibility of the County Associate Circuit Court. Furthermore to note, the municipal court is already a division of the County Circuit Court. This vote will save the city close to $40,000 dollars per year. The municipal court deals with city legal issues, the most common being city traffic stops and tickets – all matters will now funnel through the county courthouse. If you have a case that was scheduled between August 15th and October 8th, your court date will be rescheduled. The City Council also will be moving the office of the City Ordinance Inspection Officer, Kevin Myers, to the old municipal court room which will additionally save the city money – currently the city pays rent for a building where Mr. Myers is currently located.