Savannah council reviews plan to study a city-run municipal court, raises cost and safety questions

City staff presented an initial review on April 10 about whether Savannah should transition away from the county Recorder's Court toward a Savannah Municipal Court, and councilmembers asked staff to return with more detailed cost, jurisdictional and staffing information.

The presentation, led by Joe Schierhouse, acting chief of information and public affairs, laid out how Recorder's Court and municipal courts currently divide cases in Chatham County and showed 2024 figures that described roughly 33,000 cases processed annually, with about 22,000 in Savannah and 11,000 in unincorporated Chatham County. "For 2024, the City of Savannah paid $3,200,000 for the administration of Recorder's Court, and the county paid $1.2 million for a total of about $4.5 million," Schierhouse said. He also told the council that fines historically covered court expenses but that the general fund subsidized the city’s Recorder's Court by roughly $1,100,000 last year.

Why it matters: council members framed the question as both operational and political. A municipal court, they were told, could align the city’s enforcement…