Peoria joins West Valley Regional Veterans Court; council approves intergovernmental agreement

The Peoria City Council on Dec. 17 approved an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the city of Glendale to allow Peoria to refer eligible defendants to the West Valley Regional Veterans Court, Peoria Municipal Judge John Tatz told council.

Judge Tatz and Court Administrator Sandra Garcia described the program as a collaborative specialty court that pairs judicial oversight with prosecutor and public defender coordination, VA representatives and nonprofit partners to address veterans’ underlying needs — housing, benefits, employment and counseling — with the goal of lowering recidivism for justice‑involved veterans.

Tatz described the court’s underlying goal succinctly: “The goal of veterans court, like any specialty court, is very simple. You wanna reduce recidivism.” He said the West Valley court’s docket is presided over by a veteran judge and that services are available even for veterans who are not VA‑eligible because of participating nonprofit partners.

Financial and operating details in the IGA included a flat fee per referred case to cover Glendale’s administrative costs; Judge Tatz said past practice indicated a fee around $300 per case and noted Glendale may have grants that could reimburse some public‑defender costs. The IGA delegates the day‑to‑day veteran docket to the regional court but preserves prosecutorial discretion about case outcomes tied to program completion.

Action: Council approved the intergovernmental agreement in agenda item 28R by a unanimous vote. Peoria will provide public defender representation as necessary for its participants and will pay the per‑case administrative fee outlined in the agreement.

Ending: Staff and the municipal court asked council to approve the IGA to expand options for veterans; the council approved the participation and the city will coordinate referrals and cost reimbursements under the agreement.