ABSECON – The city has a new court administration and the times they are a changin’.

Seriously, Marshal Dylan.

New municipal court judge William E. Gasbarro and court administrator Merrilee Carlson are assessing how to best spend their time and they aren’t accepting the excuse “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

What they’re looking to change first is the time that court is held.

Court hours are now 4:30-7 p.m., or whenever the last case is finished, according to City Administrator Terry Dolan. A proposal to be considered by City Council would switch the hours to 2-4:30 p.m.

Depending on the schedule, court is held two or three Mondays each month, Dolan said.

“They advanced the proposal to the Police Department first,” Dolan told The Current Friday, Feb. 4. “They met with ex-chief (Joseph) Cowan and Lt. James Laughton.”

Dolan said he was called in at the end of the process.

The public, police department and court would all benefit from having earlier hours, he said.

“It would be better on all their schedules,” Dolan said.

Day hours are generally more convenient for the public, he said, and there is an expectation that overtime would be reduced in the Police Department.

“They shared their thoughts,” he said. “And they wanted to hear my opinion and concerns.”

Dolan said he limited his comments to effects on the general public.

“I certainly deferred to the operational expertise of the court and the Police Department,” he said. “The one thing I brought up was the logistics of the lobby security during normal hours of city hall operations.”

Regular city offices close to the public at 4:30 p.m., when court hours now begin.

Dolan said that the police want anyone entering city hall for any reason while court is in session to adhere to court security.

“When a member of the public comes to city hall to pay their sewer bill, they will have to go through court security if they come on a court day,” Dolan said. “The Police Department feels all visitors need to go through security.”

Dolan said he was assured that the security check would not be invasive.

“They’re simply being asked to walk through a metal detector,” he said. “It’s normal courtroom security during normal work hours at city hall – from 2-4:30 on Mondays when court is in session.”

The administrator said it shouldn’t make much difference to people.

“It’s probably not a good idea to have things like a pocket knife in your pocket when you enter city hall,” he said.

“I just want to let the people know that if you come to pay your sewer bill for instance, you’re going to have to walk through a metal detector,” Dolan said.