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Blue Ridge council discusses restarting municipal court to boost code enforcement
Summary
Council members discussed options to restart a municipal court—contracting a judge, prosecutor and clerk—to give the city more teeth to enforce code violations, but noted limits without local police and collection challenges for unpaid fines.
Council members signaled renewed interest in restarting a municipal court to improve enforcement of local ordinances. A council member said the city would need "a judge, a prosecutor, and a clerk" and that the town could contract those services on a part-time basis rather than hire full-time staff. The speaker noted prior arrangements with outside judges and estimated the historic contractor rate at about $200 per person per court session.
The discussion focused on practical limits and next steps, not on immediate implementation: the council was told the county will not issue warrants for city citations and that collection can be difficult when fines go unpaid. "If they don't pay those fines, we still can't do anything about it because we don't have a police," the council member said, noting prior attempts to use liens in probate cases. Members asked the city staff to reach out to a former municipal judge for referrals and to return with options, including contracting frequency (monthly vs. quarterly), projected costs and draft agreements.
