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HomeMy WebLinkAbout071618_ra03Regular Agenda JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST TO: Board of County Commissioners Philip Morley, County Administrator FROM: Trevor Hansen, Chief Civil Deputy, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office DATE: July 16, 2018 SUBJECT: DISCUSSION re: Proposed Changes to Sheriffs Civil Fees STATEMENT OF ISSUE: The Sheriff s Office proposes several changes to existing County Code (Title 3, Chapter 070, "Sheriff s Fees"): eliminate fees for the service of process related to certain types of protective, in order to ensure that persons needing a protective order are not delayed or discouraged due to financial reasons; update the fee schedule for other types of process service and civil enforcement such that some fees are increased, while others are decreased or eliminated; add new fees to reflect current needs, such as a fee for extended civil standby services; and alter the mechanism for automatic civil fee increases in future years. The proposed changes are reflected in Appendix A. ANALYSIS: Per RCW, the Sheriff charges fees for certain actions related to the service of process and the enforcement of civil court orders. These fee types and amounts are set by RCW and can only be changed or updated by the County Commissioners, not by the Sheriff. In order to avoid putting victims of stalking, harassment, and domestic violence in increased danger by excluding those who cannot pay fees, the Sheriff already waives fees for some types of protection orders. The Sheriff requests that this practice be codified in County Code and expanded to include all types of protective orders. The new fees requested are primarily of two types: first, to reimburse the Sheriff s Office when the enforcement of a civil court order is cancelled by the Plaintiff after the Sheriffs Office begins to work on the case; and second, to accommodate the recent increase in requests for "Civil Standby" services. A "Civil Standby" occurs when a law enforcement officer is called on by a citizen, or directed by a court order, to provide security while the various parties in a dispute or domestic violence situation exchange property. For example, a JCSO Deputy might assist while someone is excluded from their residence due to a no contact order retrieves a few personal items that they will need. There is no problem with continuing to provide this service without costs; however, there has been an increase in demand for Civil Standby services that last several hours or more (for example, moving someone out of a home). JCSO does not have the manpower to accommodate these requests, even under court order, without a mechanism for being reimbursed, as well as a procedure for scheduling. The proposed change to the Ordinance would permit us to answer this need. Regarding the other fee changes, the request changes are intended to better reflect the costs of civil process. Chief Civil Deputy for the Sheriff has reviewed current fees, policies, and procedures currently in place in JCSO Civil Office, and has compared these against standards set and taught by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Center, as wells as the best practices of nearby Sheriff's Offices. The changes currently requested reflect the results of this review. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no cost to the Sheriff's Office, or the County, to implement the proposed ordinance. Any loss in fees due to the proposed exemptions will be minimal, as the Sheriff already exempts most protective order services as a matter of policy. Any increase in fees received would be used to support the Sheriff's civil function. RECOMMENDATION: Hold an informational session and potentially give direction to schedule a public hearing. REVIEWED BY: I ip Morl,-Cbynty Administrator Date An Ordinance Amending Chapter 3.70 of the Jefferson County Code "Sheriff's Fees" APPENDIX A STATE OF WASHINGTON County of Jefferson } } ORDINANCE NO. } WHEREAS, the State of Washington has established in RCW 36.18.040(1) the dollar amounts a County Sheriff is authorized to collect for the service of civil process, for example, summons, complaints, subpoenas and writs; and, WHEREAS, state law, codified in RCW 36.18.040(3) authorizes a county legislative authority, in the case of Jefferson County, the Board of County Commissioners, to set the amount of the fees that are to be charged in order to cover the costs of administration and operation; and, WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 09-1123-15 authorized the creation of Chapter 3.70 of the County Code (JCC 3.70), titled "Sheriff s Fees," which, among other provisions, sets the minimum fees for official services rendered by the Sheriff; and, WHEREAS, the Chief Civil Deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office is responsible for the operations of the Civil Office, and together with the Civil Office Clerk is responsible for service of civil process by the Sheriff, with temporary and emergency assistance provided by Corrections Deputies assigned to courthouse security, and by the Operations Division of the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office; and, WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office wishes to ensure that all citizens have access to legal measures to protect themselves from harm, and therefore has enacted a policy of charging no fees for the service of any civil process in which a citizen is seeking a protective order from the courts, and WHEREAS, the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office periodically provides a service, often called a "Civil Standby," wherein a Deputy, either at the request of the citizens or under Court Order, is present and keeps the peace while two or more citizens who are restricted by civil court orders from interacting with another seek to divide personal property; and, WHEREAS, the demand for "Civil Standby" services from the Jefferson County Sheriff s Office, both at the request of citizens and under court order, have increased both in frequency and in length; and, WHEREAS, there is currently no provision in JCC 3.70 for the collection of fees for "Civil Standby" services; and, WHEREAS, the annual adjustment provided for JCC 3.7.030 is not enough to accommodate the current, actual costs of administration and operation for the service of civil process in each individual case; and, WHEREAS, the annual adjustment provided for in JCC 3.7.030 is operationally cumbersome due to the annual implementation, and complicates accounting due the changes in fees frequently occurring at a rate of $0.25/year, and creates confusion for customers of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office; and, WHEREAS, the costs of non -emergency service of civil process should, to the extent possible, be borne by the users of those services, rather than the county's general fund; and, WHEREAS, the Chief Civil Deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has reviewed the policies, procedures, and fee schedules of the Civil Office, and have compared these against the standards and best practices taught by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, and against the policies, procedures, and fee schedules of other nearby Sheriff's Offices; and, WHEREAS, the Chief Civil Deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has proposed that JCC 3.70.010 be altered, such that certain fees for services that currently exist be added, removed, or altered; and, WHEREAS, the Chief Civil Deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has proposed that additional sections be added to JCC 3.70 to accommodate the addition of certain new services and accompanying fees, and the rendering of certain existing services fee -exempt to ensure access for citizens to protective orders; and, WHEREAS, the Chief Civil Deputy of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has proposed that JCC 3.70.030 be altered to ease implementation, accounting, and customer relations by reducing the regularity of fee adjustments, NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners as follows: Section One: Chapter 3.70 of the Jefferson County Code, Section 010, "Designated," shall be amended to read as follows: The sheriff, or his or her agent, representative, deputy or employee, shall collect the following minimum fees for official services he or she renders, subject to the indexing methodology listed in JCC 3.70.030: (1) For service of each summons and complaint, notice and complaint, summons and petition, and notice of small claim on one defendant at any location, $30.00 and on two or more defendants at the same residence, $35.00; (2) For making a return, $10.00 for each return of service; (3) For levying each writ of attachment or writ of execution upon real or personal property, $60.00 per hour; (4) For filing copy of writ of attachment, order of sale or writ of execution with the auditor, the actual cost of the auditor's filing fee; (5) For processing and serving writ of possession or restitution when enforcement is not necessary (whether due to cancellation or due to compliance by the occupants), including the cost of preparing and serving or posting all notices generated by the Sheriff's Office, $40.00; (6) For serving writ of possession or restitution with enforcement, including the cost of preparing and posting or serving all notices generated by the Sheriff's office, $75.00, plus $60.00 for each hour after one hour for each deputy required to be present; (7) For serving an arrest warrant in any action or proceeding, $50.00; (8) For executing any other writ or process in a civil action or proceeding, $60.00 per hour; (9) For making a deed to lands sold upon execution or order of sale or other decree of the court, to be paid by the purchaser, $50.00; (10) For making copies of papers when sufficient copies are not furnished to the Sheriff, or when additional copies of notices are needed in the course of enforcing a civil court order to ensure all parties receive service, $1.00 per printed page; (11) For service of any other document and supporting papers for which no other fee is provided herein, $30.00; (12) For posting a notice of sale or postponement, $15.00 per posting; (13) For certificate or bill of sale of property, or certificate of redemption, $50.00; (14) For conducting a sale of property, $60.00 per hour spent at the sheriff's sale, with a minimum charge of one hour; (15) For preparing notice of levy, notice of sale, or notice to publisher, or any other notice for which no other fee is provided herein, $10.00; (16) For preparing affidavit of posting or affidavit of mailing, $10.00; (17) For fingerprinting for noncriminal purposes, $15.00 for each person for up to two sets, $5.00 for each additional set; (18) For the reproduction of audio, visual, or photographic material, to include magnetic microfilming, the actual cost including personnel time. (19) For cancellations of service of process, other than Writs or Court Orders directed to the Sheriff, a $10.00 cancellation fee, in addition to all other fees provided herein; (20) For cancellations, prior to Levy, of Writs of Attachment, Writs of Execution, or Orders of Sale, whether on real or personal property, a $50.00 cancellation fee, in addition to all other fees provided herein; (21) For cancellations, after Levy, of Writs of Attachment, Writs of Execution, or Orders of Sale, whether on real or personal property, a $150.00 cancellation fee, in addition to all other fees provided herein; (22) For cancellations on services of all other Writs and Court Orders directed to the Sheriff (except Writs of Restitution or Writs of Possession), a $20.00 cancellation fee, in addition to all other fees provided herein; (23) For Civil Standby services scheduled through the Civil Office, a $20.00 scheduling fee, plus $60.00 for each hour a deputy is required to be present, per deputy, with a minimum charge of one hour. Section Two: Chapter 3.70 of the Jefferson County Code, Section 030, "Adjustment," shall be amended to read as follows: (1) Beginning with the year 2020, the fees established hereby shall be adjusted bi- annually (every two years) accordingly on the first business day of January (adjustment date) by the amount of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPIW). The CPIW is the Consumer Price Index — U.S. City Average for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. (2) Adjustments to the sheriff's fees shall be calculated as follows: the percentage increase in the sheriff's fees shall be equal to the percentage increase in the CPIW between the September of three calendar years before the adjustment date and the September of the calendar year immediately prior to the adjustment date. (3) All fee increases shall be rounded up to the next $1.00 increment, unless such rounding up shall constitute an increase of more than ten percent, in which case the fee will not be adjusted, but may be noted for review during the next bi-annual adjustment, at which time it may be increased to the next $1.00 increment at the sole discretion of the Sheriff or his/her designee. Section Three: There shall be added to Chapter 3.70 a new section, Section 3.70.060, titled "Fee Exemptions," the text of which is laid out below: Fees described in this Chapter shall be waived in the following instances: (1) When process to be served is received from, or being served on behalf of, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney's Office or the Jefferson County Juvenile and Family Services Office; (2) When process to be served is a protective order signed by a judge, whether temporary or permanent, as well as any documents directly associated with the protective order (such as the underlying petition, declarations, exhibits, etc.) (3) When a brief (approximately 15-20 minute) Civil Standby is conducted to permit a person to remove or retrieve a small number of items of personal property (for example, the packing of an overnight bag), provided that the Standby is related to an existing protective order, and/or is pursuant to a Court Order, and/or is necessary to ensure public safety. This exemption does not apply if the Civil Standby if any of the following are true: the Standby will involve the removal or retrieval of large amounts of items; or, the Standby reasonably appears to be of a nature that would require more than a fifteen to twenty minutes to complete; or, the Standby is not related to a protective order or pursuant to a Court Order, and is not immediately necessary for public safety. Section Four. This ordinance is effective upon adoption. Section Five. If any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, or phrase of this ordinance is declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining parts of this ordinance. APPROVED this day of ATTEST: 2018. JEFFERSON COUNTY BOARD of COMMISSIONERS David Sullivan, Chairman Kate Dean, Member Kathleen Kler, Member Carolyn Avery, Deputy Clerk of the Board Approved as to form only: Philip Hunsucker, Chief Civil Deputy Prosecuting Attorney 3.70.010 Chapter 3.70 SHERIFF'S FEES Sections: 3.70.010 Designated. 3.70.020 Mileage rate. 3.70.030 Adjustment. 3.70.040 Publication. 3.70.050 Recovery of fees as court costs. 3.70.010 Designated. The sheriff, or his or her agent, representative, deputy or employee, shall collect the following minimum fees for official services he or she ren- ders, subject to the indexing methodology listed in JCC 3.70.030: (1) For service of each summons and com- plaint, notice and complaint, summons and peti- tion, and notice of small claim on one defendant at any location, $20.00 and on two or more defen- dants at the same residence, $25.00; (2) For making a return, $10.00 for each return of service; (3) For levying each writ of attachment or writ of execution upon real or personal property, $50.00 per hour; (4) For filing copy of writ of attachment, order of sale or writ of execution with the auditor, $20.00 plus auditor's filing fee; (5) For serving writ of possession or restitution without aid of the county, $40.00; (6) For serving writ of possession or restitution with the aid of the county, $60.00 plus $50.00 for each hour after one hour; (7) For serving an arrest warrant in any action or proceeding, $50.00; (8) For executing any other writ or process in a civil action or proceeding, $50.00 per hour; (9) For making a deed to lands sold upon exe- cution or order of sale or other decree of the court, to be paid by the purchaser, $50.00; (10) For making copies of papers when suffi- cient copies are not furnished, $2.00 for the first page and $1.00 per each additional page; (11) For service of any other document and supporting papers for which no other fee is pro- vided herein, $25.00; (12) For posting a notice of sale, or postpone- ment, $15.00; (13) For certificate or bill of sale of property, or certificate of redemption, $50.00; (14) For conducting a sale of property, $50.00 per hour spent at the sheriffs sale; (Revised 2/16) 3-18 Ex,`sT i el �a (15) For preparing notice of levy, notice of sale or notice to publisher, $5.00; (16) For preparing affidavit of posting or affi- davit of mailing, $10.00; (17) For fingerprinting for noncriminal pur- poses, $15.00 for each person for up to two sets, $5.00 for each additional set; (18) For the reproduction of audio, visual, or photographic material, to include magnetic micro- filming, the actual cost including personnel time. [Ord. 9-15 § 21 3.70.020 Mileage rate. In addition to the fees listed in JCC 3.70.010, the sheriff, or his or her agent, representative, deputy or employee, shall be entitled to collect with respect to rendering the services listed above for each mile actually and necessarily traveled in going to or returning from any place of service, or attempted service, the current rate per mile set by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service but in no event shall the amount collected for miles traveled be less than $10.00. [Ord. 9-15 § 3] 3.70.030 Adjustment. Beginning with the year 2017, the fees estab- lished hereby shall be adjusted annually accord- ingly on the first business day of January (adjustment date) by the amount of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPIW). The CPIW is the Consumer Price Index — U.S. City Average for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, as published by the Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics of the United States Department of Labor. Adjustments to the sheriffs fees shall be calcu- lated as follows: the percentage increase in the sheriffs fees shall be equal to the percentage increase in the CPIW between the September of two calendar years before the adjustment date and the September of the calendar year immediately prior to the adjustment date. All fee increases shall be rounded up to the next $0.25 increment, unless such rounding up shall constitute an increase of more than five percent, in which case the fee increase will be rounded down to a lesser $0.25 increment such that the increase does not exceed five percent. [Ord. 9-15 § 41 3.70.040 Publication. Each January the revised schedule of fees will be published and made available to the public in a manner to be decided at the sole discretion of the sheriffs office. [Ord. 9-15 § 5] Jefferson County Code 3.70.050 Recovery of fees as court costs. Fees for service and mileage allowed under this chapter of the code may be recovered by the pre- vailing party incurring the same as court costs to the extent the prevailing party complies with RCW 36.18.040(2). [Ord. 9-15 § 61 3-19 3.70.050 (Revised 2/16)