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In existence for 31 years, Mediation Services handles hundreds of cases and thousands of calls each year and serves as the landlord-tenant information hotline for the county.

But what does that mean for you?

Well, let's say you have a neighbor with an adorable little dog who, unadorably, barks it's little head off for hours on end whenever your neighbor isn't home. And say you have talked to the neighbor (and even to the dog) - and that didn't work - and called the police - and that didn't work - and organized all your other neighbors to be on your side and give the dog's human companion a piece of all of your minds - and that didn't work. So now what?

That's where a community mediation center can come into play. It's a place where even the smallest - or most annoying - problem will be taken seriously. Where you can apply for mediation and someone will contact your neighbor and, in a kind, neutral, confidential way, persuade them to come in and sit down with you and one or two mediators. And, miraculously, much of the time, something can be worked out.

While some mediation cases are settled on the phone, the core of the mediation process is the "at-the-table" mediation, just as the core of the court system is the trial (even though more than 95 percent of court cases settle before trial). In at-the-table mediations, relationships can be transformed - sometimes with tears, sometimes with hugs or handshakes, sometimes with all three.

But what if you never need mediation services? Why should you care if it exists?

Well, just as you only need the local fire department in the unlikely event your house catches on fire (hopefully, you've never needed them) and you only need the local police if you're the victim of (or a witness to) a crime, you only need community mediation if you get into a dispute you can't handle on your own and going to court (or a private mediator) isn't your best alternative. Then it's wonderful that it's there.

Unless, of course, it isn't.

The county has suggested that the district attorney might fill the void left by eliminating mediation services. Well, think about it. The DA's job is to prosecute people, see to it that they go to jail or pay a fine because they have committed a crime - robbery or a murder or consumer fraud. Is that where you want to go with your dispute over whether your neighbor's trees block your view? Or to decide who gets the pots and pans in your divorce case? Or to get your landlord to give you a little longer before you have to move out? Probably not.

Why destroy a program that has been doing a good job for 31 years just to turn around and start all over again in an inappropriate department?

Marin County Mediation Services doesn't have the political clout of the Sheriff or the Fire Department or Public Works - or the DA. Its staff of six is all female (though it's volunteers and interns are both male and female, Republicans and Democrats, young and old). It's a tiny public agency that helps make Marin County a more peaceful, mentally healthy place. And it's there when you might need it.

Until it isn't.

Sandy Shartzer is a mediator, a long- time peace activist and, for the past 11 years, a member of the staff of Marin County Mediation Service