Hamilton County and the city of Cincinnati are creating a new tool to go after slumlords and polluters.

        The county and city will team up this summer to create an environmental court that will handle misdemeanor criminal cases such as illegal dumping, building code violations and even littering.

        Bill Langevin, the city's director of buildings and inspections, said the idea is to clear a court docket once or twice a month.

        “Municipal court has a tremendous workload,” Mr. Langevin said. “Often times, these cases may not get the proper attention. And civil prosecution doesn't seem to work with repeat offenders.”

        Commissioner Todd Portune said the county's Solid Waste Management District Policy Committee, which he chairs, will recommend creating the new court at its meeting today.

        It will cost about $160,000 a year to run the court; fines and fees will cover most of that.

        “The court will increase policing and self-policing,” Mr. Portune said. “It's a good way to clean up the county.”

        Franklin County, which includes Columbus, has a similar court, which they call a “quality of life” court. No new legislation is needed to establish the court, Mr. Portune said, because courts already have the authority to assign such cases to a magistrate.

        Mr. Langevin said in cases of building code violations, landlords sometimes decide it's easier to pay civil fines than to fix their buildings.

        “We need some other method to convince some folks they'd be better off to fix their buildings,” Mr. Langevin said. “Building code violations and the like were the impetus behind the whole concept. We need a venue that is more sensitive to these concerns.

        “Abandoned buildings are a victimless crime, but they affect the entire neighborhood.”

        There are expected to be between 20 and 30 cases for the court to hear every month.

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