In compliance with the requirements of Section 1901.14 of the Ohio Revised Code, I submit the Annual Report of the Eaton Municipal Court, Preble County, Ohio, for the calendar year of 2003.

I sincerely trust that this report will better acquaint you with the Court and how it continues to serve you and your community.

JUDGE	Paul D. Henry
CLERK	Bertha D. Kalil
CHIEF DEPUTY CLERK	Belinda Harry
DEPUTY CLERK	Cindy McCoy
DEPUTY CLERK	Terry Washington
DEPUTY CLERK	Sharon McKee
DEPUTY CLERK	Vicky Heck
DEPUTY CLERK	Mary Meredith
DEPUTY CLERK (part-time)	Delores Mattis
DEPUTY CLERK (part-time)	Julia Withrow
DEPUTY CLERK (part-time)	Elaine Fudge
DEPUTY CLERK (part-time)	Shaun Miley
CHIEF BAILIFF & PROBATION OFFICER	Pam Boyd
DEPUTY BAILIFF & PROBATION OFFICER	Sharon McKee
MAGISTRATE	George J. Earley
ACTING JUDGE	Charles D. Hubler
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY	John Petry
PROSECUTING ATTORNEY Preble County Complaints & Felonies	Rebecca J. Ferguson

Violations Bureau and Bonding Station when Court is closed is the Eaton Police Department, 328 North Maple St., Eaton, Ohio 45320.

During the Calendar year 2003, there were 808 new cases filed in the Civil Division of the Eaton Municipal Court. Of these cases, 103 were filed in the Small Claims Division. This is a 13% increase from the cases filed in 2002. By comparison, in the year 2002, there were 701 cases filed in the Civil Division, of which 122 were filed in the Small Claims Division.

In the calendar year 2003, the Civil Division of the Eaton Municipal Court receipted $56,064.96 from Court Costs and unclaimed funds, plus $82.68 in interest and $8.275.00 for Computer Costs and $15,880.00 for Capital Improvement which was distributed to the City of Eaton from the Court's Civil bank account.

In 2003, the Court also receipted and disbursed to the State of Ohio the sum of $11,034.56. This money is used by the State of Ohio for their Legal Aid Society Funding ORC 1901.26, 1907.24 and 2303.201.

In 2003, there were 103 felony cases initiated in the Eaton Municipal Court. This is an approximate decrease of 27% in felony cases filed in 2002 when there was 143 cases filed.

In 2003, there were 1,086 misdemeanor charges filed. This is an approximate decrease of 6% from 2002 when there were 1,156 cases filed.

Charges of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs of Abuse decreased from 2002. In 2003 there were 249 OMVI cases filed in the Eaton Municipal Court. This is an approximate 33% decrease from 2002 when there were 369 OMVI cases filed.

Traffic citations decreased 11% in 2003. There were 9,465 traffic citations filed in the Eaton Municipal Court for 2003. There were 10,592 traffic citations filed in 2002.

It should be noted that these numbers do not include cases where the individual is charged with multiple offenses.

In 2003, the Eaton Municipal Court disbursed $1,429,899.24 in its Criminal and Traffic Division. The Criminal and Traffic bank accounts earned $1,309.60 in interest. There is a total of $79,294.00 in open items. In 2002 the Court disbursed $1,515,762.23 in its Criminal and Traffic Division. Interest earned during the calendar year of 2002 was $2,203.67. This is a decrease of $85,862.99 in total paid out funds from 2002.

In 2003 the Eaton Municipal Court made the following disbursements to the following local and governmental agencies:

City of Eaton	$547,914.32
City of Eaton - unclaimed funds	$898.25
City of Eaton - Computer fund	$85,958.60
City of Eaton - Capital Improvement fund	$166,927.40
City of Eaton - Interest Earned	$1,309.60
Eaton Police Department	$1,167.50
Preble County Treasurer	$146,839.04
Preble County Law Library	$4,000.00
Preble County Humane Society	$150.00
Preble County Sheriff	$8,753.75
Consumer Dispatch	$6,497.00
Other Sheriff Departments	$513.59
Capital Recovery	$5,061.83
Villages	$32,038.65
Treasurer of State of Ohio	$421,869.71
TOTAL DISTRIBUTED IN 2003:	$1,429,899.24

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
TRAFFIC	10,344	10,574	12,142	10,592	9,465
DUI'S	345	283	425	369	249
CRIMINAL	1,493	1,399	1,452	1,156	1,086
FELONIES	135	160	121	143	128
CIVIL	400	446	438	579	705
SMALL CLAIMS	175	198	143	122	103
.

TOTAL	12,892	13,060	14,721	12,961	11,736

Legal Fees paid to attorney when the Court rules that legal counsel shall be provided for the defendant.

1988	65 Defendants	$12,576.00
1989	64 Defendants	$13,751.00
1990	87 Defendants	$15,383.00
1991	124 Defendants	$26,604.25
1992	192Defendants	$44,084.50
1993	178 Defendants	$40,911.26
1994	211 Defendants	$45,612.80
1995	279 Defendants	$67,541.98
1996	284 Defendants	$63,289.62
1997	255 Defendants	$54,502.00
1998	178 Defendants	$46,418.00
1999	228 Defendants	$51,653.00
2000	214 Defendants	$54,664.11
2001	239Defendants	$63,837.50
2002	314 Defendants	$89,551.00
2003	283 Defendants	$85,583.00

Total money recovered by the Eaton Municipal Court for Court Appointed Attorney Fees in 2003 - $1,745.80

I, Bertha D. Kalil, Clerk of the Eaton Municipal Court during the year of 2003, do hereby certify that the foregoing Financial Statements and distributions made thereof as provided by law for the calendar year of 2003 are true, and I further certify that the details of the computations and calculations are contained in records and ledgers which are part of the standard and recognized books of accounts in the office of the Clerk of the Eaton Municipal Court.

These statements are prepared for submission to the Council of the City of Eaton and the Board of County Commissioners of Preble County in compliance with Section 1901.14(D) of the Ohio Revised Code.

In 2003, the actual total of monies expended on Court operations by the City of Eaton, was $611,955.59 from the general fund. This is an increase of $16,610.59 from 2002 when the cost of operating the Municipal Court was $595,345.00.

In 2003, the actual total monies expended on Computerization by the City of Eaton was $98,886.96. This is a decrease in expenditures of $46,439.04 from 2002 when the total expenditures for computerization was $145,326.00. The current balance as of December 31^st, 2003 is $4,134.95, however there are outstanding bills in the amount of $2,277.00, leaving an actual balance of $1,857.95 as of December 31^st, 2003. This money expended is collected by the Court on each new case filed in the court and can only be used by order of the Judge for computerization as set forth by statute.

In 2003, the actual total monies expended on Capital Improvement was $1,217,312.71. The current balance as of December 31^st, 2003 in this fund is $483,437.40, however there are bills outstanding in the amount of $449,040.74 leaving an actual balance as of December 31^st, 2003 of $34,396.66. This money can be used for any capital improvements ordered by the Judge. This money is collected on each new filing in the Eaton Municipal Court.

The current budget for 2004 is $715,800.00. The City appropriated $93,950.00 for computer costs and $128,695.00 for capital improvement. Although this is in our current budget, the monies will be generated by the court by computer costs and capital improvement costs.

I take this opportunity to submit this statistical summary of the activities of the Eaton Municipal Court for the 2003 calendar year. The Court handled 11,736 cases this past year. That number reflects both new and reactivated cases.

This number reflects an approximate 10% decrease from 2002. The exact numbers are set out in the complete annual report.

Our new court facility will allow us to provide quality service to the public to address their needs. It will further provide the appropriate facilities for not only the court's staff but also for jurors, witnesses, prisoners and attorneys. Our thanks to everyone that was involved in all phases of the construction of the new Eaton Municipal Court.

The Court makes all reasonable efforts to have the staff participate in training and development. Due to the changing requirements imposed by the State and ever improvements in technology and software systems that staff's continued training is a necessity.

The State of Ohio requires that I continue my legal education on a yearly basis. Generally, I try to satisfy these requirements by attending conferences and seminars presented by the Ohio Judicial College, the Ohio Municipal Court Judges Association, and the Ohio Judicial Conference.

On behalf of myself and the entire staff I wish to express our appreciation to all Council members, City Manager David Daily, Leslie Renner and all other persons at the City Building for their attention to the Court.