By Judge Zack Dolyk
The Vermilion Municipal Court is proud to announce that it is the recipient of a technology grant from the Supreme Court of Ohio. This grant opportunity was open to eligible Court of Appeals, Common Pleas Court (any divisions therein), Municipal Court and County Courts. Over the past two years, the Supreme Court was awarded nearly $5 million for more than 200 Court technology projects in 72 counties. The Technology Grant Fund Review Committee received an overwhelming response to the 2017 program, with over 230 project proposals submitted. The Supreme Court issued 2.8 million in technology grant funding to 70 local Court projects in 64 Courts in 42 Counties for 2017.
The Vermilion Municipal Court was awarded $63,198.00 to upgrade the Court’s CMS (case management system) to include a MergePro Paper on Demand system. This will allow for the electronic retrieval of documents. The grant will also fund a website upgrade which will allow easy access to look up cases. It also funds the beginning stages of E-filing. It will fund a new server and allow us to have an off site server to back up our Court records.
“Technology grants increase access to justice to more Ohioans and remove barriers to the efficient and effective administration of justice for local Courts.” Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor said. “Without this initiative, many much-needed technology improvements in Courts around Ohio would not occur.”
Funding comes from the Ohio Courts Technology Initiative, established to facilitate the exchange of information and warehousing of data by and between Ohio courts and other justice system partners through the creation of the Ohio Courts Network, to deliver technology goods and services to courts, to operate the Commission on Technology and the Courts, and to aid in the orderly adoption and comprehensive use of technology in Ohio courts
As I reported in a previous “From The Beat To The Bench” article our 2016 was a very busy year. Our Court collected over 1.3 million dollars in fines and costs. Our goal is to continue to provide excellent service to our community within our budgetary constraints. The Vermilion Municipal Court has jurisdiction in the City of Vermilion, Vermilion Township, Brownhelm Township and Florence Township.
With the implementation of the new CMS programing and the continuous increase in our case load it will bring many new challenges to the Court staff. The Court staff continues to strive to provide the best service to the citizens of Vermilion and the Townships that we serve.
Our goal remains to continue to provide justice to the citizens of Vermilion and the surrounding townships in the most efficient and professional manner possible.
The Vermilion Municipal Court is open Monday through Friday 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Court is in session on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoon. You can reach the Clerk’s office by calling 440 204-2430, facsimile 440 204-2431. Visit our website at www.vermilionmunicipalcourt.org.
The Vermilion Photojournal is pleased to present a column for its readers offering information from the Vermilion Municipal Court. Judge Zack Dolyk writes the column providing some insight into the law as well as the operations of the court system.
vermilionphotojournalonline.com 