A local municipal court judge says he and his staff are working in conditions that could be a safety and security risk.
Judge Dominic Leone of Struthers brought the issue to Struthers city council Tuesday night.

The judge describes his courtroom as dirty, noisy, crowded and possibly unsecure.
He also says there electrical issues and inadequate air conditioning.

Judge Dominic Leone took 21 News on a tour of what he says are big problems in his courtroom.

He points to wire everywhere and says they need portable air conditioners to try to cool down offices, but when they are turned on they often cause an overload and the power cuts out.

"To come to work and there's no air conditioning and the electric is shutting off and things are beeping is not the ideal working situation. I would call it a barrier to productivity," said Judge Leone.

The judge also says there is inadequate storage or workspaces.

"There's no space for attorney-client meetings. There's no space for victims for witnesses. There's no space to even process most of the work," added Judge Leone.

The mayor says she's surprised by the judge's letter of complaints he sent to council, because she's been addressing the issues with the judge all along.

"This building is old," said Mayor, Katherine Cercone-Miller. "We're not mitigating the fact it is old. We have to work together and there's some things that are going to take longer than others because we are going through covid right now."

The judge and city council had a conference call about the complaints this evening and while an agreement was made to get a professional to address the electrical issues, council decided there was no specific issue to vote on.

Judge Leone agreed to meet with city administrators this week where council hopes the issues can be resolved.