Selectmen to Discuss Four-Court Merger

Darien’s probate court will be consolidated with the courts in New Canaan, Westport, and Weston, unless local officials and advocates can convince the state Probate Redistricting Commission to ditch the proposal.

The Darien Board of Selectmen has yet to vote on the issue. New Canaan’s Board of Selectmen unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday, opposing the commission's plan, and recommending that instead just the New Canaan and Darien courts merge.

An act passed by the General Assembly requires the commission to come up with a plan for reducing the number of probate courts in the state from 117 down to 50 (with corresponding cuts to the number of judges) by September 15. The legislature will then hold a special session to consider their recommendations.

The law also sets the minimum population for the new probate districts at 40,000. With a population of about 20,000, Darien didn't make the cut; neither did New Canaan, which has a similar population. The proposed New Canaan-Darien-Westport-Weston court would serve a population of about 75,000 and is the only non-contiguous district on the redistricting map.

"I’m very disappointed. I think it’s an inappropriate thing to do. A consolidated court: it’s not a compatible approach for us in Darien," said stand-in First (First Selectwoman Evonne Klein is out of town), adding that the Darien court is sustainable despite the rationale that the consolidation will save towns across the state $145,000 annually in aggregate.

In fact, the consolidation of the courts will likely cost Darien money. The court in Westport court has no room for expansion, and while the Darien court could absorb the New Canaan court or vice versa, none could accommodate all four courts. That would likely mean capital expenditures for a new facility, let alone the cost of simply moving court records dating back more than 70 years. Those costs have not been provided for in the legislation passed by the General Assembly.

"Going through Probate is very tedious. People want a familiar face, and then there’s the issue of transportation," Santarella said.

A public hearing on the matter will be held this afternoon at 1 p.m. at the capitol. The Probate Redistricting Commission will make a recommendation to the General Assembly following the hearing. If that recommendation does not affect the consolidation proposal, and it is passed by in the General Assembly's special session, the four-court merger will take place in January 2011.

The Darien Board of Selectmen plans to discuss the matter at Monday’s meeting. Santarella said that she is confident that if the Board decides to vote on the proposed four-court district next Monday, all members will vote in opposition; none, however, are planning to attend this afternoon’s hearing.

“We need to have a full-blown public discussion about this. This is a public issue."