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Home My WebLink About1996-069 Municipal Court • A • ORDINANCE NO 96-69 AN ORDINANCE relating to city administration, changing references to "district court" so that they will read "municipal court ", and amending Sections 1 72 010, 1 72.020, and 1 72 030, all of the City of Yakima Municipal Code. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1 Section 1 72 010 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: "1.72.010 District Municipal court witnesses -- Payment authorized -- Warrant. Witnesses who attend the District Municipal Court and are entitled to be paid by the City of Yakima, shall be paid by warrants drawn upon the General Fund." Section 2 Section 1 72 020 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby • amended to read as follows: "1.7/ 020 District Municipal Court witnesses -- Statement -- Time of filing -- Contents -- Payment. The District Municipal Court administrator shall, monthly, file with the city department of finance .& budget a complete and detailed statement containing the names of such witnesses entitled to such fees and the respective amounts due the witnesses, which statement shall be audited and paid as other bills are paid." Section 3 Section 1 72 030 of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows: "1 72 030 Superior Court witnesses -- Statement -- Approval -- Filing -- Payment. Witnesses who attend upon the Superior Court for or on behalf of the city in any action appealed from the Dist-AEI Municipal Court to the Superior Court shall be paid from the General Fund, upon a statement containing the names of such witnesses and the amounts due them respectively, approved by the city attorney Such statement shall be filed with the department of finance & budget. and paid in the regular and usual way " • Page 1 r, .. Section 4 This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage, approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this 21st day of October , 1996 4th A•A__/ ATTEST ynn Buchanan, Mayor 4KeU`vL,_ 2 City Clerk Publication Date: 10/25/96 Effective Date: 11/24/96 • • Page 2 �w� t to BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT Item No. I For Meeting Of 10/21/96 ITEM TITLE: Report and legislation to create a Yakima Municipal Court and related services. SUBMITTED BY: City of Yakima Municipal Court Committee CONTACT PERSON /TELEPHONE: John Hanson, Dir Finance and Budget 575 -6053 Ray Paolella, City Attorney 575-6030 Don Blesio, Chief of Police 575 -6211 Susan Woodard, City Prosecutor 575 -6033 Doug Bronson, Police Captain 575 -6199 Pete Adkins, Police Captain 575 -6294 Linda Morris, Police Officer 576 -6592 • SUMMARY EXPLANATION: The City Council will consider a report and legislation concerning creating a Municipal Court and integrated criminal justice services for the City of Yakima. This is a very significant policy decision with important ramifications for the City The special meeting 01 October 21, 1996 has been scheduled to comport with statutory timelines for establishing a Municipal Court The City of Yakima had its own Municipal Court until the late 1960's, early 1970's, when the City entered a contract with Yakima County for District Court Services. Since that time, the City has received services from the District Court. Under Washington State law, cities have the responsibility to provide justice services within their jurisdiction. The City has three basic options for the provision of those services for misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases and civil infractions. 1) Municipal Court; 2) petition the County for a Municipal Department of District Court; or 3) contract with the County for the extension of a District Court services to the City The only major variation on these options is that the City may provide for a Traffic Violations Bureau which can be independent of the court and is responsible for collecting traffic infraction fines The City of Yakima already operates a Traffic Violations Bureau - independent of the District Court, but additional legislation transferring this function to Municipal Court will be required. (See report, page 26, for background on filing, and page 24 for a history of City revenues from Court and Traffic Violations Bureau.) This analysis and recommendation is in direct response to the fiscal impact of State legislation commonly referred to as ESSB 6211 (See the attached report.) This legislation is a new unfunded State mandate which requires cities, effective January 1, 1997, to bear the full responsibility for the prosecution, adjudication, sentencing and • incarceration of all adult misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor crimes occurring within the city limits of Yakima. agenda/Municipal Court 1(d1w) Page 1 • • This legislati•n was .d..ted b he to e letislature on February 29. 1996. and signed into law by the Governor on March 30. 1996. The City received the County's preliminary dollar figures of this impact on September 18. 1996 and formally on •ctober 7 1 • • •. The letter re uested a res. 'rise b November 1 from the i . ee AppendiX I to this report.) Practically speaking, the impact of ESSB 6211 will be to increase Yakima's caseload by some 750 to 1,000 cases and increase the City's total caseload to between 9,000 and 10,000 cases annually This also means that the number of individuals incarcerated by the City will increase by a projection of some 20 -30 individuals. Notwithstanding ESSB 6211, efforts to establish a satellite District Court in operation in the new courtroom of the Police Station /Legal Center have not been realized. The only proceedings held in the facility have been less than a dozen in- custody arraignments held by the District Court Commissioner when the Commissioner has not been assigned to other duties. To continue to contract for District Court services provides no assurance that any more District Court operations without significant additional cost impact to the City will ever be realized. This is significant since to remain with District Court requires the transport of City prisoners back and forth to County Court courtrooms, at considerable cost, inconvenience and security concerns to the City's Police Department. • In addition to costs related to courts and police, the City is faced with the potential of a significant increase to house ESSB 6211 prisoners. The municipal court study attached speaks to pre -trial diversion and alternative sentencing programs which, when combined with traditional jail incarceration provide a multitude of options of which are currently unavailable to the City through the current District Court operation. For example, day or night detention and work release programs are not available through the District Court system. Many of these alternatives reside with the Court. The City Municipal Court Committee believes that a court focused on Yakima's needs and requirements will better serve Yakima's citizens. For these reasons, and to provide increased control over costs and enhanced service levels, the Municipal Court Committee recommends the City Council create a Municipal Court and integrated criminal justice services and enact the following legislation. • An Ordinance creating a City of Yakima Municipal Court to commence operation January 1, 1997 • An Ordinance "changing references" in the YMC from District Court to Municipal Court. • An Ordinance including the Compensation and Pay Plan for the City of Yakima. This ordinance establishes all of the new position classifications needed for court operations and increased prosecution caseload, as discussed in the attached report. It also establishes a new entry level attorney classification to allow for the possibility of saving money during the hiring process. The existing attorney classifications were renumbered and retitled to enhance uniformity- -with no • change to the existing salary scales. agenda /Municipal Court 1(d1w) Page 2 • • If programs accepted, additional State legislation during November • This Committee recognizes that this is a very significant decision, and this recommendation was developed only after extensive and careful consideration of all relevant factors and options The best collective judgment of the Committee is that a new Municipal Court should be formed effective January 1, 1997 Resolution Ordinance X Contract Other(Specify) Report - Municipal _ Funding Source APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL. City Manager STAFF RECOMMENDATION Approve proposal to enact legislation CITY COUNCIL/PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: Recommend serious consideration of this proposal. COUNCIL ACTION: 4. • A. Ordinance creating a City of Yakima Municipal Court. Ordinance Passed. Ordinance No. 96-68 B. Ordinance amending references in the Yakima Municipal code from District Court to Municipal Court. Ordinance Passed. Ordinance No. 96-69 C. Ordinance amending the classification and compensation plan for court related employees. Ordinance Passed. Ordinance No. 96-70 • agenda/Municipal Court 1(d1w) Page 3