Instead of changing Ruppert’s status, council created a full-time magistrate position, which Ruppert was then allowed to fill. Ruppert hired veteran Warren County attorney Greg Demos for the job and set his base salary at $85,000 a year, plus $43,280 in benefits. City Manager Sonny Lewis said two-fifths of Demos’ salary will be paid by Warren County to hear small claims cases
Demos, who will report to Ruppert, started last week and will be working to get the mental health and drug dockets in the municipal court up and running by mid-June. Ruppert said the two of them would soon be visiting three courts that have mental health and drug dockets to learn best practices before expanding the dockets in Franklin.
While Franklin council agreed on the need to create a drug docket, local lawmakers were split on whether to elevate Ruppert to full-time status. Opponents on council argued the move was being done to enable Ruppert to receive full-time state retirement pay by using the rationale of establishing a drug court, which they believed should have been established at the county level.
Changing Ruppert’s status to a permanent full-time position would also have required the approval of the Ohio General Assembly.
Ruppert, who is in the final three years of a six-year term and is age-limited, had argued that the costs would have been minimal for him to go full-time. He even offered to pay a portion of the costs for a secretary to assist in the proposed drug court.
The proposal to elevate the judgeship was forwarded to the Warren County Commission for endorsement, but the commissioners chose to remain neutral and take no position on the request. The commissioners’ blessing was needed before the Ohio Supreme Court took the matter to the General Assembly for consideration.
After the commissioners took no action, Ruppert said he was giving up his quest to make the position a full-time judgeship, adding that it was “a dead issue.”
“I’m not going to keep hitting my head against a brick wall,” he said. “I’m withdrawing my efforts. It’s unfortunate because it’s going to cost the city more money. But there is no question we need this drug docket. It’s a step forward and think it will help a lot of people.”
During the council comments at last week’s meeting, some strong words were exchanged by council members on both sides of the issue. Councilman Carl Bray, who supported the full-time judgeship, became irate with those who opposed it, accusing council members Jason Faulkner, Scott Lipps and Matt Wilcher of having a personal agenda to keep Ruppert from receiving more in retirement pay.
“It’s better because it’s not permanent and it will cost less,” Lipps said. “There are costs to this, but it’s not forever as it would be if the full-time judgeship became permanent.”
Faulkner said voices were raised during the meeting, and that he had been frustrated by the projected cost amounts Ruppert had presented in the past. He described the hiring of a full-time magistrate as “a short-term pain, but a long-term gain for residents because there would not be a permanent full-time judgeship.”
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