Every Time You See Kentucky Chief Justice John Minton, Thank Him. Below Is One Reason Why.

From the H-L:

Justice right to look after taxpayers

Who knew the chief justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court would have to spend his time telling contractors they must really, truly follow the law and honor the contracts they sign?

But that's just what Chief Justice John Minton is doing, and we should be grateful to him.

To review: When Minton took on his job, he inherited the $880-million courthouse building campaign begun by his predecessor, Joseph E. Lambert.

Herald-Leader reporters examining these projects found that construction managers on the no-bid jobs weren't getting bonds to fully insure their work, even though the contracts clearly required them.

In March, an attorney Minton engaged to review the program issued an opinion requiring 100 percent bonds immediately.

Some construction managers still have not complied, and Minton has told the judge-executives in the counties involved to write "default letters" to those contractors.

Amazingly, several of those judge-executives are mad at Minton, not the construction managers, according to minutes of a meeting last month.

They say that under Lambert, Garlan VanHook — the former facilities manager for the Administrative Office of the Courts, which oversees the projects — told construction managers they needed only bond their fees, about 5 percent of the project.

The county executives say that bonds put up by subcontractors on the courthouse projects are protection enough. (Executives from three counties, Hancock, Fleming and Allen, agreed with Minton and defended his position. "Just because it's been done wrong, doesn't mean it should continue," argued Allen County Judge-Executive Bobby Young, according to the minutes.)

There are at least two problems with this.

First, as was explained in the meeting, subcontractor bonds protect the construction manager but not the owner — the county.

Second, every contract for a courthouse project clearly requires 100 percent bonding to fully protect the county — taxpayers in the end — if the construction manager fails.

This would matter anywhere in government but especially so in the court system. Where does it leave us if the courts can't protect citizens and follow the law?

"I am not willing to continue in a system that puts the taxpayers and counties at risk. I am concerned enough to take the heat to do it right," Minton told the county executives, according to the minutes.

Good for him.

The judge-executives should take his remarks to heart and give more consideration to protecting taxpayers in their counties than contractor profits.