Ohio State Representative Tim Ginter has introduced a bill that if passed, would eliminate the East Liverpool Municipal Court in Columbiana County.

Ginter introduced House Bill 613 on March 31st.

Meanwhile, East Liverpool City Officials are divided on the issue.

In a letter sent to the Columbiana County Commissioners back in March, East Liverpool Mayor Greg Bricker called on them to set in motion a plan that would terminate the city's municipal court, merging it with the Columbiana County Municipal Court in Lisbon.

The Mayor's letter questioned whether the caseload justified a full time municipal court, and claimed that the court is imposing hardships on East Liverpool. Bricker noted that that the court's annual costs totaled about $287,000 in 2021.
 
Other city officials, like Clerk of Courts Candy Page, disagree with the Mayor. Page told 21 News in March that the mayor's number excluded certain administrative cases, and cases where fines were paid outside of court.
 
Numbers from the Ohio Supreme Court say the municipal court's total number of cases in 2021 totaled 1,190 traffic cases, 840 misdemeanor cases and 481 civil cases for a grand total of 2,511 court cases.
 
After its introduction, the bill was referred to the Civil Justice Committee for review.
 
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