The future of the Madison Township County Court – a story worth telling

By Amie Ernst
Chairwoman
Greenfield Village Council

I'm writing to bring a developing local story to the community's attention, and to offer whatever help I can in covering it.

With the current Judge John Judkin's term ending, the Highland County Board of Commissioners are weighing whether to keep the Highland County Court, Madison Township Division, open here in Greenfield. 

They started discussions at the end of July and at the Aug. 8 commissioners' meeting. (See https://highlandcountypress.com/news/commissioners-proclaim-child-suppo…)

They met with Highland County Prosecutor Anneka Collins, Judge Judkins and the Highland County Sheriff's Office. They did not engage with the Village of Greenfield until I presented my concerns. 

This past Friday, they began formally requesting caseload data and closure guidance from the Supreme Court of Ohio. This is the only court in the entire northeastern corner of Highland county — the court of record for all 6,422 residents of Madison Township — so the decision reaches well beyond the village limits.

The community deserves the full picture before anything is decided, because the "savings" case doesn't hold up to the numbers. After what the court collects and returns to the county, its net cost is roughly $120,000 a year — about 0.18 percent of the county's budget. 

Meanwhile, closing Highland County Court, Madison Township Division would shift real costs onto Greenfield in police overtime and lost patrol time (our department files roughly 80 percent of the charges here), onto the sheriff in added deputies for transport and service, and back onto county taxpayers through more failures to appear, warrants, and jail days for people who simply can't make a 34-mile round trip to Hillsboro. The court handled 976 cases last year and is already modernizing in place.

We can provide the court's 2025 annual report, the county budget lines, and Greenfield Police Chief Jeremiah (Jim) Oyer's analysis are all in hand. 

"Removing the only court in Madison Township removes local access to eviction relief, small claims and account collection for local businesses, timely arraignment for residents, and a bench that both my officers and the sheriff's deputies can reach without surrendering half a shift," Chief Oyer said.

For quick reference, we've put the facts and the source documents together here: https://saveourcourtgreenfield.org.

Sincerely,
Amie Ernst 
Chairwoman
Greenfield Village Council