Goderich Is Asking Huron County To Cover Some Of The Cost Generated By The Court House

by Bob Montgomery

The Mayor of Goderich says the town is being unfairly asked to cover the costs of operating the courthouse for the entire county.

Trevor Bazinet says Goderich covers all of the costs for courthouse security and the transportation of prisoners from anywhere in the county because the courthouse is located in Goderich. Bazinet says they don't feel that's fair to the taxpayers of Goderich so they're going to be asking the county for some help. Bazinet says they do get some help from the province to cover some of their costs, but that doesn't cover the total cost, and this year they're looking at a shortfall of $128,000. He says he'd like to see the county help out with that.

Bazinet says Owen Sound recently made a similar request to Grey County, because the courthouse in Grey County is located in Owen Sound, and they were dealing with the same problem. They passed a motion to approach Grey County for some help and Grey County agreed to cover the cost. So Bazinet is hoping they get the same response from Huron County and he points out there are other counties in the province that also have a shared model and he thinks it's appropriate.

Bazinet will bring a notice of motion to the next Goderich council meeting and then present the motion at the meeting after that, which he hopes council will pass, and then it will go to the county.