By ANDY GARDNER

MASSENA -- Village officials are concerned that District Attorney Mary Rain’s decision to no longer regularly send prosecutors to local courts will have a negative effect, and the mayor thinks its time to explore a district court system.

In a letter issued Aug. 17, Rain says that Monday prosecutors will only appear in town, village and city courts to “conduct scheduled hearings and trials.”

“All other physical appearances will be temporarily be suspended for six months, at which point the office will reevaluate its position,” she wrote.

“The effect it will have on us, pretty much we’ve been doing anyways, is they’ll have to prosecute their own cases,” Massena Police Chief Mark LaBrake said at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting. “You’re going to see people adjourning cases or taking cases to trial because the DA will not be there to offer a plea.”

He said if the sheriff’s office were to cut its road patrol, it would burden his department with extra hours spent bringing jail inmates to and from court appearances.

“It would burden my office’s hours,” LaBrake said.

Mayor Tim Currier, who was police chief in Massena for nearly three decades, believes the entire local court system needs to be re-thought.

“It’s time to look at some form of consolidation or district courts,” he said.

Rain’s letter comes on the heels of the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislator’s refusal to fill a vacancy in the district attorney’s office.

Early this month the legislature passed a 60-day delay on filling all vacant positions in an effort to save money as it faces a nearly $4 million budget gap. The gap is blamed largely on rising health care costs and sales tax shortfalls.