New court costs to be considered to build Chattanooga community mediation center
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- There are several tools that have been created to help those going through a variety of domestic disputes.
However, Chattanooga is the only city that does not have one of those tools.
A community mediation center is designed for parties in a domestic dispute who cannot afford private mediation efforts, or are ordered to seek mediation by a judge.
Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis all have one of these.
So why does Chattanooga not have one?
Hamilton County Circuit Judge Alex McVeagh says that the lack of a community mediation center is leading to worse outcomes in our justice system.
Judge McVeagh said, “I can make a ruling in a divorce case. I can divide property. I can set parenting time, but really setting these parents up with a trained mediator, to leave that mediation with a plan that’s going to really work for the child. It’s far more efficient than having a judge tell a child, tell a parent, what’s going to happen with their case.”
State law allows for counties to establish a community mediation center by charging up a two dollar court cost fee to help pay for it.
This is referred to as a litigation tax.
Some commissioners question whether the funding mechanism causes more of a burden than the already high costs in the legal system.
Commissioner David Sharpe said, “I certainly hope that we’re able to find a way to support that monetarily, but it gives me pause when we’re asking taxpayers for more money, but can’t say why, specifically.”
Others argue the opposite.
Commissioner Gene-O Shipley said, ” I think the good thing that’s been done in the work to it is the people that live the life and don’t cause court problems, their money shouldn’t be going into this, helping to pay.”
Judge McVeagh says that there is a bigger cost to not approving these funds.
He said, “This is what is going on across the state in community mediation centers that we don’t have here.”
The Commission will vote on this resolution next week.
