Atlantic County Receives Grant For Countywide Court System

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ — Atlantic County has been awarded a $150,000 Local Efficiency Achievement Program (LEAP) Challenge Grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to support a countywide municipal court system.

County Executive Dennis Levinson proposed the consolidation of the municipal courts as a shared services opportunity to promote greater efficiency and cost savings for taxpayers.

He noted a variety of costs associated with municipal courts. In addition to salary and wage, judiciary, legal, administrative and security, other remaining costs include facility maintenance, utilities, capital, health benefits and pension, office supplies, and travel.

Each court is responsible for these same expenses that could be shared in a countywide system.

According to Levinson, the consolidated court system could provide some towns as much as 30-40 percent in savings.

The LEAP Challenge grant supports projects that demonstrate collaboration and innovation with the potential to produce expansive and efficiency-generating shared services.

The county’s grant award must be used exclusively for the implementation of the countywide municipal court.

Levinson said it will help offset start-up costs and any upgrades that may be needed at the historic courthouse in Mays Landing, which the county has offered as a centralized location for this purpose.

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