Knox City Court is now in a new location.
Continue readingKnox City Court to Begin Operations in New Location in December
Knox City Court will be moving operations to the Starke County Justice Center beginning Monday, December 4.
Continue readingCity of Knox to be Reimbursed for City Court Costs
The Knox City Council approved the interlocal agreement with Starke County involving Knox City Court during their meeting last week.
Continue readingStarke County Council Approves Knox City Court Agreement
The Starke County Council approved the Inter Local Agreement involving Knox City Court during their meeting Monday.
Continue readingStarke County Commissioners Hear City Court Update
The Starke County Commissioners heard an update on the Knox City Court during their meeting Monday morning.
Continue readingKnox City Council Provides City Court Update
The Knox City Council continued discussions on an ordinance that would abolish Knox City Court during their meeting Tuesday.
Continue readingKnox City Council Provides City Court Update
The Knox City Council continued their discussions on an ordinance abolishing Knox City Court during their meeting last week.
Continue readingOrdinance to Abolish Knox City Court Tabled
The Knox City Council continued discussions on an ordinance Wednesday night that would abolish Knox City Court.
Continue readingOrdinance to Abolish Knox City Court Tabled
The Knox City Council continued discussions on an ordinance Tuesday night that would abolish Knox City Court.
Continue readingKnox City Council Approves First Ordinance Reading Abolishing Knox City Court
The Knox City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance abolishing Knox City Court during their meeting Tuesday night.
Continue readingKnox City Council Discusses Dispatcher, Election Cost Requests from Starke County
The Knox City Council members reviewed requests from Starke County to pay for the election costs in 2023 and a portion of the salary of a Starke County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher.
Continue readingKnox City Court Operates under COVID-19 Operating Restrictions
Knox City Hall is closed to the public, but Knox City Court will continue to operate under certain COVID-19 restrictions.
Continue readingKnox City Court Closed due to COVID-19 Exposure
Knox City Council Clarifies Penalty for Violating Park Hours of Operation
Knox city ordinances no longer refer to being caught in a city park after hours as a misdemeanor, but it’s still a $25 fine. The city council adjusted the ordinance language Tuesday, at the recommendation of City Attorney Autumn Ferch.
Continue readingKnox City Council Adjusts City Hall Business Hours
Knox city government offices will have more consistent operating hours, following recent action by the city council. Up until now, the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office and City Court stayed open until 4:30 p.m., while the Mayor’s Office and most county government offices closed at 4:00, according to Mayor Dennis Estok.
Continue readingNorth Judson Town Marshal to Coordinate with Knox City Court on Unpaid Tickets
In order to ensure that individuals who refuse to pay ordinance violation fines will be held accountable, Town Marshal Kelly Fisher has been coordinating with Ordinance Officer Kerry Rust, Town Attorney Justin Schramm and officials from The City of Knox and its court system.
Continue readingStarke County Probation Department, Community Corrections Merge
The recent merger of Starke County Community Corrections with the County Probation Department will result in better services, as well as cost savings. That’s according to Shawn Mattraw. He’s the director of the new entity, known as Starke County Court Services. “Well, the big difference is that it’s going to [be] a cost savings,” he says, “The past structure, when we were separate entities, we had a director in Community Corrections and a chief probation officer. Those positions were funded pretty nicely. Now, those positions have been eliminated, and it’s just me.”
Starke County Sheriff Discusses Community Service
Community service may make a comeback as a condition of a misdemeanor sentence after recent discussions with Starke County Sheriff Bill Dulin, Jail Warden Phil Cherry and Starke County Chief Probation Officer Shawn Mattraw.
Knox City Council Discusses City Court
The Knox City Council briefly discussed costs of operating the Knox City Court.
Mayor Rick Chambers explained that in 2012, after the disbursements of fees, the court took in $53,834.81 and the cost to operate the court was $98,345. The court system did not use $11,400 last year so the total cost absorbed by the city was $86,945.83.
Knox City Court In Jeopardy Due To Funding Problems
When members of the Knox City Administration appeared before the Starke County Council Monday night seeking funding sources to narrow the loss gap at Knox City Court, the subject of discontinuing the court was mentioned.
The next night the Knox City Council met and Attorney David Matsey reported on the meeting with the county officials.
“I think some reality is setting in with the county council members about what is going to happen if city court isn’t there anymore. We need to close that gap of $80,000, and the city isn’t going to subsidize the court forever. The bottom line is it’s going to cost $300,000 to $400,000 to operate another court,” Matsey said.
