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Home My WebLink About45-0908-26R STATE OF WASHINGTON County of Jefferson In the Matter of Establishing a New, Part-Time (0.50 FTE)Position and Appropriate Compensation RESOLUTION NO: 4 5-0 9 0 8-2 6 R for Appointed Superior Court Commissioner of Jefferson County WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners sets the compensation and benefits of employee positions in Jefferson County; and WHEREAS, on July 21, 2025, the County Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 48- 0721-25R in the matter of establishing objectives and procedures for the 2026 Annual Budget, including a budget priority to continue progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan objective of organizational health to maintain a professional county workforce; and WHEREAS, after review by the County Administrator and the Board of Commissioners, it has been determined that a regular, part-time Court Commissioner position must be established to ensure appropriate wage and classification for this critical function; and WHEREAS, compensation and benefits for the Court Commissioner position must be comparable and equitable in order to keep compensation and benefits for this position at a rate that will allow the County to retain and recruit for this position; and WHEREAS, on December 2, 2021, the County Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 76-21 establishing a relationship between the salary of Elected Official positions in Jefferson County and the Salary of a Superior Court Judge which is set by the Washington Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials; and WHEREAS, the current and future salary of a Superior Court Judge as established by the Washington Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials is effective on July 1 of each year; and WHEREAS, the pay rate of a Court Commissioner appointed by the Superior Court Judge should be fair and representative of the responsibilities of the office and should be in proper relation to the compensation of Superior Court Judge; and WHEREAS, a compensation study of comparable counties evaluating the pay rate of appointed Court Commissioner determined that a pay rate for the position would fairly be established at 90% of the hourly rate of Superior Court Judge; and WHEREAS, the compensation for part-time Court Commissioner would change with the annual change to the wage of the Superior Court Judge as established by the Washington Citizens Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials on July 1; and WHEREAS, the position of appointed Court Commissioner is not included in a wage matrix and would not receive annual step or other increases that are received by union-exempt and Page 1 of 3 FLSA exempt positions; and WHEREAS, union-exempt and FLSA exempt employees receive benefits including personal time off,health care, holidays and retirement based on FTE; and WHEREAS, budget approval from the Board of Commissioners is required to fund new and replacement positions. NOW,THEREFORE,THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF JEFFERSON COUNTY,WASHINGTON, HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1.Whereas Clauses are Findings of Fact. The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners hereby adopts the above"Whereas" clauses as Findings of Fact. Section 2.Purpose. The purpose of this resolution is to establish the position of appointed,part-time(0.50 FTE)Court Commissioner for Jefferson County Superior Court and to establish the salary and benefits to be afforded for the newly created position. Section 3.Establishment of New,Part-Time(0.50 FTE)Appointed Superior Court Commissioner Position. A new,part-time(0.50 FTE)Appointed Superior Court Commissioner position for the Jefferson County Superior Court is hereby established. Section 4. Salary for New Position. The current and future salary of the appointed,part-time(0.50 FTE) Superior Court Commissioner shall be established at 90%of the current salary of the Superior Court Judge and as the salary may be adjusted in the future as determined by the Washington Citizens Commission on salaries for Elected Officials, in accordance with RCW 43.03.300. Section 4.Benefits for New Position.The appointed,part-time(0.50 FTE)Superior Court Commissioner shall be afforded all benefits as received by union-exempt and FLSA exempt employees as established by Resolution No. 53-1014-24R and by the Personnel Administration Manual approved April 14, 2024. Section 5. Severability. If any section,subsection,sentence,clause,phrase or section of this Resolution or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Resolution or its application to other persons or circumstances shall be fully valid and shall not be affected. Section 6. SEPA Categorical Exemption. This Resolution is categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act under WAC 197-11-800 (19). Section 7. Effective Date. This Resolution shall take effect and be in full force immediately upon passage by the Board of County Commissioners. (SIGNATURES FOLLOW ON THE NEXT PAGE) Page 2 of 3 APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 6 4 day of g `T" ' .n. ,-- 2026. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF C MISSIONERS Gre\Brothert n, Chair Hei i Ei nhour, Commissioner Heat r y-Nollette, Commissioner ATTEST: FERSpNCa�' �0'��G i10• 11 APnPROV�ED�A"S" TO FORM ONLY J� PhiliV C. Hunsucker, Chief De uty g3HIN0*31. NNNMY e404/49 6 / -2...z, Carol Gallaway, CMC C/ Clerk the Board Page 3 of 3 Ott APPROVED AND ADOPTED this b day of greet,-►ti ie 2026. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF C MISSIONERS GretBrothert n, Chair 66A,4, HeiEi nhour,Commissioner Heat y-Nollette, Commissioner ,`„..11//11M1tt,, ATTEST: ‘ •F�*Sc'` , APPRO D AS O FORM ONLY ;{ ( f_ ` eptember 9,2026 7, ': Philip C. Hunsucker, Chief Deputy "''• 4113HRy ,'..4,0#tllNr /(COPit Carol allaway, CMC Clerk the Board Page 3 of 3 Consent Agenda Commissioners Office JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners FROM: Josh D. Peters, County Administrator DATE: September 8, 2026 SUBJECT: RESOLUTION re: Establishing a New, Part-time Position and Appropriate Compensation and Benefits for Appointed Superior Court Commissioner STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The purpose of this Resolution is to establish a new, part-time position and appropriate compensation and benefits for an appointed Superior Court Commissioner. The Jefferson County Superior Court Judge presides over the business of the Superior Court.The Judge has the statutory authority to appoint Court Commissioners in order appropriately conduct hearings within strict time frames as required by Constitutional and Washington State law. Currently,the Jefferson County Superior Court is staffed with a Clerk Hire,appointed Court Commissioner.The Clerk Hire Court Commissioner position is limited to 69 hours per month.The current Clerk Hire position does not adequately address appropriate wage and benefit for the position and the limitations of 69-hour per month position do not address the continuing needs of the Court. The Court Commissioner duties include conducting hearings involving matters such as Therapeutic Courts, Juvenile Offenders, Civil Protection Orders and Restraining Orders and Dependencies. ANALYSIS: Jefferson County and the Superior Court have been in a planned process to budget for and establish a part-time Superior Court Commissioner position to create an appropriate organizational structure to conduct the Court's business.A Clerk Hire Court Commissioner position was created and budgeted in 2025.The Clerk Hire position is limited to 69 hours per month and does not include benefits.Creating a part-time Court Commissioner position with benefits would allow the Court to attract and retain persons in this position. The wage of the appointed Court Commissioner is based on an analysis of compensation for similar positions in comparable counties. FISCAL IMPACT: The Clerk Hire Court Commissioner position is fully funded in FY 2026 budget. The incremental cost of a regular,part-time position is limited to benefits only with a future net increase of approximately$2,000/monthly. RECOMMENDATION: Approve the attached Resolution establishing position of appointed, part-time Court Commissioner. REVIEWED BY: (3/ac Jos . Peters, County Administrator Date