Woodstock Remains Divided On I-575 Municipal Court Jurisdiction

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The city of Woodstock will go another year as the only municipality in Cherokee County in which its Municipal Court will not have jurisdiction over the tickets police officers write along Interstate 575.

While the City Council did pass a resolution requesting the county’s legislative delegation to pass local legislation granting the request, the motion was not unanimous.

The council voted 3-2 to approve the resolution. Council members Warren Johnson and Liz Baxter opposed the resolution, and Mayor Donnie Henriques had to cast the tie-breaking vote. Council member Bud Leonard was not present.

Council members rehashed some of the same issues they previously discussed at earlier meetings. Cherokee legislators prefer local governing bodies to present resolutions — approved unanimously — outlining their requests to be taken up during the upcoming legislative session.

Those requests are formally communicated with lawmakers during the annual Delegation Day. Woodstock initially planned to present its request on Delegation Day, which is scheduled for Dec. 10 in Canton. However, since the city’s resolution did not garner unanimous support, it’s cancelled its allotted time with the lawmakers.

Henriques expressed frustration at why both Johnson and Baxter continued to hold out on voting in favor of the resolution, adding the same council voted in favor of the resolution in 2013.

“What has changed from last year to this year, I don’t know,” he said. The mayor asked Police Chief Calvin Moss to provide some information to the council before they voted on the resolution.

According to Moss, in the past 12 months, Woodstock police have responded to 2,438 incidents or activities on its stretch of I-575, which runs from the Cobb County line to just north of the Little River bridge.

Among those incidents, 214 were traffic accidents and as a result, city issued 248 traffic violation citations on the interstate, all of which were transferred to be handled by Cherokee County State Court.

On an annual basis, traveling to and from Canton represents 56.6 percent of a full-time officer’s hours on the job and a direct payroll cost of $30,564, Moss said. Out of the 248 citations, the net revenue contributed to the State Court was right around $22,600 in the last 12 months, the chief said.

In the last 12 months, the cost to the city due to the direct payroll costs and loss in revenue comes out to be $53,164.

Moss noted part of the original discussions about the city annexing a portion of the interstate was driven by the fact that the area was — and is — part of the Woodstock Fire Department’s service area.

“While honestly I’m still not particularly clear on all the more than two decades of history on this issue, I do know that the city of Woodstock is being treated differently than all of the other cities throughout the state that run municipal courts,” Chief Moss stated. “This fact alone, in my humble opinion, is an affront to the hardworking women and men of the Woodstock Police Department.”

Both Baxter and Johnson remained steadfast in their opinions on the matter. Baxter pointed out last year’s resolution was not approved unanimously, as Council member Bud Leonard was not at the meeting to vote on the request.

City Manager Jeff Moon informed the council that Leonard, who missed last year’s vote due to surgery, sent a letter to the delegation expressing his support of the resolution. The delegation, Moon added, honored that request.

Johnson said he was hesitant to support the resolution “at this time.” He said he is perfectly able to see both sides of the issue, but alluded to an article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that highlighted several cities who appear to be running so-called ticket traps on state highways and interstates.

While he said he was not insinuating that would happen in Woodstock, Johnson said having the tickets heard in Cherokee County State Court provides “checks and balances” to the system.

Moss responded to that assertion, noting the checks and balances are provided by judges and the judicial process. Additionally, the state prohibits municipalities from collecting revenue from speeding fines that amount to more than 40 percent of its annual operating budget.

Also, citations written on tickets in which a motorists was speeding by 17 or more miles per hour over the speed limit cannot be factored into that calculation. With Woodstock, that figure hovers around 4 percent, Moss said. The city is nowhere near a number that would cause some to raise eyebrows, the chief said.

“That’s not my philosophy in policing,” he added.

Baxter added she didn’t think having resolution approved unanimously would make a difference, as it would result in the same action — the delegation not approving the request. What could possibly change the outcome, she added, would be for the city and legislators to sit down and hash out disagreements.

Both State Representatives Scot Turner of Holly Springs and Michael Caldwell of Woodstock have come out in opposition to the city’s request.

Council members Chris Casdia and Bob Mueller also were frustrated in their discussions with Johnson and Baxter.

Casdia added Moss has addressed concerns about whether officers would be running speed detection radar on the interstate by reminding the council it would have to approve a resolution to apply for a permit with the Georgia Department of Transportation. The police department can’t run radar on I-575 unless the council approves a resolution and GDOT grants the permit, Casdia said.

When reminded of that information, Johnson said he felt like the council’s decision not to apply for a radar permit “could go either way” in the future.

Mueller directly told Johnson to say what his justification is for his decision to oppose the change.

“What is the problem here?” he asked. “I don’t understand the problem. It just seems to me like we are back tracking and not getting (anything) done. I don’t understand your reasoning. If there is a good solid reasoning, (then) say it.”

By comparison, municipal courts in the cities of Canton and Holly Springs currently process tickets written along the interstate in their jurisdictions.

The city of Ball Ground is waiting for Georgia Department of Transportation to add I-575 to its list of locations its authorized to operate radar before it starts patrolling the interstate.