Butler County Area 1 Court to cease operations in Oxford by March 31

Oxford’s Area 1 Court is slated to cease operations by March 31, as services move to the Government Services Center at 345 High St. in Hamilton.

The move will allow for both the Area 1 Court and the Area 2 Court to be in the same building. 

The current home of the Area 1 Court, a building located at 118 W. High St., is owned by the City of Oxford and was leased to Butler County to house the Area 1 Court in 1995.

On Thursdays, the Area 1 Court covers cases including traffic and misdemeanor criminal cases, and on Wednesdays, it covers small claims and civil cases up to $15,000.

Starting in April, residents of Hanover, Milford, Morgan, Oxford, Reily and Wayne Townships, as well as Miami University students, will have to travel to Hamilton for these services.

According to Jessica Greene, assistant city manager for the City of Oxford, the move of the Area 1 Court to Hamilton may prove to be a challenge for both Miami University students and faculty and Oxford residents.

“We are a unique community with a lot of zero-car households,” Greene said. 

In a letter sent to the Oxford Free Press dated Jan. 5, multiple alternative options were listed for individuals in need of transportation following the Area 1 Court’s move, including taking the Butler County Regional Transit Authority (BCRTA) bus, which runs for free on weekdays from 5:40 a.m. until 8:40 p.m.

According to Greene, no official reason was given to the City of Oxford regarding the move of its Area 1 Court.

Michael Gmoser, Butler County prosecuting attorney, told the Oxford Free Press that the City of Oxford “outgrew” the current building, formerly the local post office, that has housed its Area 1 Court.

In a memo sent to the Oxford Free Press from Gmoser, he said the city outgrew its court “not because of cases from most of the townships it serves, but from the incremental increase in student population.”

Gmoser said, in the past 15 years, the issue of moving the Area 1 Court has been on the table, and he has wanted Oxford to adopt a municipal court, but no change was enacted. 

Gmoser said he believes the City of Oxford’s decision to continue running its Area 1 Court without change was an economic one. 

“They need to pay it themselves, for themselves, by themselves for its citizenry (and) its unique population,” Gmoser said.

Gmoser added that modernization should be considered by the City of Oxford. 

“An old post office is not ideal for a modern court,” Gmoser wrote in the memo. “Its security has been called into question as reported by the Ohio Supreme Court. Thus, for several years, the court has outgrown the building on multiple levels.”

Both Greene and Gmoser mentioned an issue with the building is its age. 

“The building is old,” Greene said. “It is not as ADA compliment as we’d like it to be … we’d really want to improve some accessibility.” 

Greene said the city has been “holding off” from adding any improvements to the building to strengthen its accessibility due to the lack of knowledge previously surrounding the fate of the building and its Area 1 Court.

Greene anticipates the Oxford City Council may conduct a study that would explore options for the building. 

Doug Elliott, city manager for the City of Oxford, has been looking into the possibility of a mayor’s court filling the space. A mayor’s court would deal with local minor offenses and civil cases, which would be handled by a hired magistrate.

Gmoser said he believes implementing a mayor’s court should be a relatively easy process and the first step to adding a municipal court, which would be a longer process with various hurdles.

“These (municipal and mayors) courts are the way of the future, and it is past time to move forwards,” Gmoser said.

Greene said the city is in the “early phases” of research to understand what the cost to the city would be.

On the financial end, the City of Oxford will lose $24,000 each year. Relocating the Area 1 Court to Hamilton will cost Butler County $125,021 for the first year.

“It’s very much more expensive for the Butler County,” Greene said of the Area 1 Court’s move to Hamilton.