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Home My WebLink About2005-085 Compensation for Municipal Court Judges ORDINANCE NO 2005- 85 AN ORDINANCE relating to compensation for Municipal Judges, setting the base salary for Municipal Judges at 95% of District Court Judges' salaries, removing Municipal Judges from the longevity plan, and amending sections 1 60 040(J) and 2.24 010(B) of the City of Yakima Municipal Code WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill (E2SSB) 5454 which offers state funding for municipal court judge's salaries under certain conditions WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the following proposed amendments and finds it to be in the best interest of the City of Yakima that the Yakima Municipal Code be amended as follows, now therefore BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA. Section 1 Section 1 60 040(J) of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows 1 60 040 Municipal judge "J Compensation Pursuant to RCW 3 50 080, the compensation for municipal court judges shall be set by the city council by ordinance Commencing January 1, 2006, the annual base salary shall be One Hundred Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred Sixteen and 16/100 Dollars ($115,916.16), and shall be maintained thereafter at ninety -five percent (95 %) of the District Court Judges' salary as set by the State Salary Commission, with any variance for rounding in favor of the judgeThc city shall enter into a contract with the appointed judge for professional service: " Section 2 Section 2 24 010(B) of the City of Yakima Municipal Code is hereby amended to read as follows 2.24 010 Longevity plan — Eligibility — Restrictions "B Effective January 1, 2002, all management employees as defined in Section 2 20 115 of this code shall receive compensation, called longevity pay, in addition to their regular salary, according to the following schedule, to be paid on the first applicable day following the thirty -first day of December and the thirtieth day of June of each year Years of Service Percent of Base Pay 5 20 10 35 15 50 20 6 5 24 9 0 Effective January 1, 2003, all such management employees shall receive longevity pay, in addition to their regular salary, according to the following schedule, to be paid on the first applicable day following the thirty -first day of December and the thirtieth day of June of each year Effective January 1, 2006, Municipal judges shall not receive longevity pay. Years of Service Percent of Base Pay 5 25 10 40 15 55 20 7 0 24 10 00" Section 3 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 13 day of December, 2005 cajp Paul P George, Mayor ATTEST City Clerk Publication date: 12 -16 -2005 Effective date: 1 -15 -2006 BUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL YAKIMA, WASHINGTON AGENDA STATEMENT 4 Item No For Meeting Of December 13, 2005 ITEM TITLE Consideration of an ordinance setting the base salary for Municipal Judges at 95% of District Court Judges' salaries, removing Municipal Judges from the longevity plan, and amending sections 1 60 040(J) and 2 24 010(B) of the City of Yakima Municipal Code SUBMITTED BY Dick Zais, City Manager Sheryl Smith, Deputy Human Resources Manager CONTACT PERSON/TELEPHONE, Sheryl M Smith, x6090 SUMMARY EXPLANATION The attached ordinance amends the compensation paid to Municipal Judges to conform to the requirements of Washington State Legislature's Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill (E2SSB) 5454, which provides state funding for municipal court judge's salaries under certain conditions Those conditions include setting the Judges' base salaries at between 95% and 100% of District Court Judges' salaries The ordinance also removes Municipal Judges from the longevity plan (The District Court Judges' salaries are set annually at the state level ) This change in compensation was approved by the City Council as a budget policy issue on December 6, 2005 It is anticipated that this change will be reimbursed fully by the state in 2006 Resolution Ordinance X Other (Specify) Contract Mail to (name and address) Phone Funding Source General Fund - Filing Fee revenue from the State APPROVED FOR SUBMITTAL. Cit Mana•er STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Pass the ordinance BOARD /COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: COUNCIL ACTION: Ordinance passed. ORDINANCE NO. 2005-85 CI r c RE CE+VEp YAKfNJA WASHINGTON SUN 1 U 2005 COURTS OFFIC n t9TNll 3 , ICt OF THE COURTS Janet L. McLane State Court Administrator June 7, 2005 TO Mayor Paul Georgge City of Yakima FROM Ramsey Radwan 4- RE Implementation of Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5454 As you know, Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 5454 (E2SSB 5454) was recently passed by the state legislature An electronic copy of this bill can be found on the Washington State Legislature's Internet site One of the primary objectives of E2SSB 5454 is to recognize the state's responsibility for sharing the cost of limited jurisdiction courts throughout Washington As an initial step, the state legislature has contributed $2 4 million toward district and qualifying municipal court judges' salaries for the biennium ending June 30, 2007 You are receiving this letter because your municipal court judges are currently elected, or because your city may be moving to authorize elections for municipal court judges in the near future The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) was given the responsibility of implementing and managing the provisions of E2SSB 5454 This document is intended to provide information regarding the funding eligibility requirements set forth in statute, provide a very brief explanation of the implementation steps, and to provide notice that the municipal court will be bringing this matter to your attention in the near future In order to be eligible for funding, Section 3 of E2SSB 5454 requires that a city or town establish a trial court improvement account and that an amount equal to one hundred percent of the state's contribution received by the city or town for the payment of qualifying municipal court judges' salaries be deposited into the account. In addition, Section 7(20)(b) requires that a jurisdiction's municipal court judge(s) be elected and be compensated at a minimum of 95 %, but not more than 100 %, of district court judges' salaries Section 7 also requires that the salary requirement be set by ordinance The following approach will be used by AOC to comply with state statute and our goal of minimizing the burden placed upon courts and local governments STATE OF WASHINGTON 1206 Quince Street SE • P O Box 41170 • Olympia, WA 98504 -1170 360 - 753 -3365 • 360 - 586 -8869 Fax • www courts.wa.gov E2SSB 5454 Page 2 June 7, 2005 We will • Base the distribution formula on a "proportionate share" methodology The distribution will be based upon each court's estimated salaries payable as a percentage of the total (all eligible courts) salaries payable • Require each presiding judge to certify salaries for the ensuing calendar quarter contribution • Require each local legislative body to certify that their municipal court judges are elected and that the judges' salaries are 95 %, but not greater than 100 %, of district court judges' salaries A copy of the draft certification is attached • Require each local legislative body to provide a copy of the ordinance setting municipal court judges' salaries • Periodically adjust (if necessary) the amount to be distributed • Make the first distribution during the week of October 3, 2005 and every calendar quarter thereafter The Administrative Office of the Courts has provided and will continue to provide guidance to each municipal court regarding implementation In addition, guidance and forms will be available on our Internet page at http. / /www courts wa gov If for any reason you should have questions, please feel free to contact me at (360) 357 -2406 or at ramsey radwan @courts wa gov Cc District and Municipal Court Judges' Association -Board Washington State Association of .Counties Doug Haake