A businesswoman whose name appeared on a short list of candidates to fill a vacant seat on the Mercer County Board of Commissioners last year has asked the county and state to reconsider a proposal for an additional county judge.

"In business, we evaluate how we can meet our needs with current resources," said Coolspring Township resident Catherine V. Mott, executive consultant for her home-based Strategic Sales Solutions. "I believe the county has to take a businesslike approach, think outside the box and try to see if there are other solutions."

"It's my impression that that's not been done," said Ms. Mott, one of three candidates chosen by the Mercer County Republican Committee last year to replace former Commissioner Brian W. Shipley, who resigned in October amid a storm of controversy. County judges tapped Kenneth S. Seamans -- who was not on the party's short list -- for the job.

Ms. Mott is the first political figure to publicly question the proposal for a fourth judge. "I think some are reluctant to be very open for fear of judge reprisal," said Ms. Mott, an unopposed candidate this year for the county GOP committee out of Coolspring Township.

President Judge Francis J. Fornelli first made a public push for a fourth judge and courtroom about two months ago, saying data he had gathered since last fall clearly indicated there was a need. The Mercer County Bar Association has studied Fornelli's findings and is expected by several sources to release its recommendation next week, a month later than initially expected.

While no county officials have spoken out publicly against the proposal to date, there has been debate -- some of it heated -- over the issue behind the scenes since last year. Ms. Mott was at the epicenter of at least some of that heated debate.

She said she fired off a "strongly worded … somewhat incendiary" e-mail against the proposal early this month to several state lawmakers and local officials; that e-mail was then forwarded to numerous other parties, and then met with backlash. In that e-mail, she said she claimed that "citizens and the bar association did not support" the proposal.

"People were too focused on the emotion (of the e-mail) and not on the logic of the message," she said. "But while many citizens and those in the bar do not support the idea, I should not have been all-inclusive. I followed up with an apology e-mail to those I may have offended."

She said she focused on her "message" in a second e-mail. "I don't run the county but I wonder how we (the county) got in as deep a financial hole as we did," she said.

After readjusting its taxing formula last spring and saying the move would not create a tax increase, commissioners passed a 36-percent tax hike -- the largest in county history -- for this year to meet rising costs and budget shortfalls from last year.

"The budget was cut significantly for all other county agencies to deal with past county oversight. An increase in population and crime does not necessarily warrant a fourth judge. I am concerned about the additional expenses citizens may have to bear. Maybe we should redesign and realign our court system instead of adding another judge," she said.

The fourth judge proposal requires courthouse renovation plans to be altered and offices to be moved, as well as approval from the state Legislature.

The renovation alterations are in the works, according to Commissioner Olivia M. Lazor. Money is available now to build a fourth courtroom and an anticipated future need for a fourth judge and courtroom makes the decision to alter plans wise in the long run, she said. Part of a $34 million bond floated by the county is covering the costs of the renovation.

Approval from the state Legislature may be in the works, but a timetable is uncertain. The proposal would have to be rolled into a bill including all counties across the state that are seeking new judgeships and then pass both the House and Senate and get the governor's approval. The state pays common pleas judges' six-figure salaries and provides a $70,000-a-year stipend to offset judicial office costs.

Potential roadblocks this year include getting lawmakers to fast-track the necessary legislative package amid the state budget crunch and the lame-duck status of Gov. Schweiker's administration and this year's as yet too-close-to-call gubernatorial race, sources say.