Newtown Poised To Press For Three-Town Probate District

By John Voket

Despite an apparent desire on the part of the Brookfield probate court to consolidate with New Milford, a growing number of Newtown officials are pressing to become the hub of a consolidated district serving Brookfield and Bethel. On Monday, the Board of Selectmen learned that the current consolidation proposal puts Newtown, Ridgefield, Bethel, and Redding together with no definitive hub of operations.

Newtown’s current Judge of Probate Margot Hall reported to the selectmen during a regular meeting July 6 that she learned about the Brookfield/New Milford proposal, and that she hoped the selectmen would support a resolution to consolidate Brookfield with Newtown.

Judge Hall said if that resolution of support was put into writing, she would deliver it July 8 to a meeting of the state Probate Assembly. “I feel Ridgefield does not present the best situation [for Newtown constituents],” Judge Hall told the selectmen. “Hopefully we will prevail.”

Unfortunately, following that meeting, Judge Hall said Newtown’s recommendation, along with as many as five others tendered by other judges from across the state, were all defeated in an assembly vote. Judge Hall did say, however, that Newtown still might make its case to an appointed panel that would make final recommendations to the governor’s office on the probate consolidations.

The makeup of that panel was expected to be announced July 9, sometime after the print edition of The Newtown Bee went to press.

In regard to the possible Brookfield/New Milford merger, local attorney Robert Hall — also the probate judge’s spouse — told selectmen Monday that according to the spirit of the consolidation legislation, “the commission being formed by Governor Rell to study probate court consolidations is supposed to look at what the towns want, not what the judges want.”

He suggested the greatest likelihood for Newtown to prevail in its hope to anchor a Bethel, Newtown, Brookfield Probate district would come from such a formal resolution on behalf of the town from the Board of Selectmen.

First Selectman Joe Borst said Newtown could even sweeten the deal by volunteering to also include Redding. The move would still keep the proposed Newtown district within population and proximity guidelines outlined in the consolidation legislation.

A June 12 release from the governor’s office states that effective January 5, 2011, the old revenue system will be replaced with one based on population and workload in which the judge’s compensation will be paid directly from a Probation Court Administration Fund, overseen by the State Treasurer’s Office.

Other provisions of the bill include:

*Consolidating courts from 117 to 44 to 50. Redistricting will be recommended by a bipartisan commission if probate judge cannot agree on final number of courts.

*Centralizing accounting and payroll functions in the Office of the Probate Court Administrator

*Courts to operate 40 hours a week

*All new judges will be attorneys

*Judges would continue to be elected

According to a column in the Connecticut Law Tribune following the probate reform’s signing, under the current law, a probate court’s income and the judge’s compensation are determined primarily by the monetary value of estates and other probate matters brought before the court.

This method for determining the salaries of probate judges results in a significant disparity that is unrelated to the court’s caseload, the Tribune opinion piece continued. That means up until the time new changes take effect, judges in affluent towns will continue to receive higher salaries even though their workloads might be markedly lighter than judges who serve in less affluent urban areas.

Selectman Paul Mangiafico noted following Judge Hall’s report Monday that by the court to population guidelines in the consolidation documents, the merger among Newtown, Brookfield, and Bethel would put the district in close to 100 percent conformity with the median suggested in the legislation.

He then moved the board take a formal position to support the suggested consolidation with the offer to also accommodate Redding if it was deemed appropriate and helpful by the state consolidation commission.

Speaking on the sweeping changes in store for the 300-year-old state probate system, Governor M. Jodi Rell defended the new law, which she said will create a system “that is more responsive to the needs of people who need probate court services when they are already going through very difficult periods in their lives.

“Too many families have suffered too many abuses at the hands of the old system — compounding their misery at times when they are most vulnerable, while grieving the loss of a loved one,” Gov Rell said. “We can now offer our citizens a restructured court system that will be responsible and sensitive to their needs — professional, still locally based, but more efficient and cost-effective.”

The governor said the bipartisan Probate Assembly will recommend redistricting by September 15, 2009, if probate judges cannot agree on the final number courts. The Probate Assembly will be composed of two gubernatorial appointments, ten Legislative appointments, and the Probate Court Administrator, acting as a nonvoting, ex-officio member.

The law requires that the Assembly’s redistricting plan be acted on in a special fall Legislative session.