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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClerk Courthouse Facilitator 22 23 Biennial Budget Request2022 County Clerk, 2022 Ruth Gordon - County Clerk General Administration / Strategic Planning Personnel / Payroll / Budget / Bills/ Disbursement Daily & Monthly Accounts/Public Records Officer Back up Phones, Calendars, Courtroom, Counter, Verification Quality Assurance / Exhibit Control Lori Bailey - Chief Deputy Clerk Staff Supervisor/OSE Coordinator/Assist Budget Auditing and Receipting of Electronic Payments Lead Docketing/BOXI Technician Dependency Calendar Clerk, Prepare Juvenile Cal. AR Accounting/ Pay or Appear Coordinator Statistics Management/Quality Assurance Supply Coordinator/ Staff Education Back up Clerk, Deputies, Front Counter Vicky Lockhart Patty Minish Deborah Pederson Deputy Clerk Senior Court Clerk Clerk Hire – up to one day/week Criminal, Juvenile, Protection Order & In- Custody Calendar Clerk, Appeals ClerkTrial Court Clerk / Docketing Clerk Reconciliation of Bank Statementsand Lead Verification of Imaging/Indexing Process Documents / Create Court Orders Daily Transaction Reports Process Documents / Create Court OrdersBack up Phones and Front Counter, all Stale Check Procedure Clerk Back up Phones and Front Counter Calendars Special Bookkeeping Projects as needed Back up Pay or Appear Coordinator Back upDaily Accounting/Jury Mail Prep Sharon McCracken Stacey Sousa Deputy Court Clerk /Courthouse Facilitator Deputy Clerk Docketing Clerk Lead Phones & Front Counter Civil and Domestic Calendar Clerk Lead Receipting Clerk Create Court Orders / Process Documents Lead Scanner/Docketing Clerk Clerk’s Dismissals Create Court Orders / Process Documents Back up Phones and Front Counter Process Incoming and Outgoing Mail Assist Pro Se Litigants in Title 26 Matters Drug Court Courtroom Clerk Pro SeForms Packets Author & Publisher 2022 FUND/DEPARTMENT:County Clerk 2022-2023 BIENNIAL BUDGET The CountyClerk is a constitutional office created within in the executive branch in Article XI Section 5, and is the Ex-Officio Clerk ofSuperior Court per Article IV Section 26 of the Washington State Constitution. The duties of the office appear in over one hundred RCW's but are generallylaid out in RCW 2 -Courts of Record and RCW 36.26 -County Clerk. In addition to statutory authorities and duties, state and local court rules also govern the functions of the Clerk. BUDGET / The Clerk provides the public with unrestrained access to a fair, accurate, and independently established record of the opinions, decisions and judgments of the court. As the Court's agent, the Clerk collects statutory fees, fines, trust and support funds; maintains a trust account for monies received; and disburses monies PROGRAM Fund/Program as ordered by the Court. The Clerk's presence is required at all court sessions for the purpose of establishing an independent record of each heariing, to receive Description RCWs and keep a record of all evidence entered by the parties and to receive the jury's verdict. In addition the Clerk playsa central role in the calling of impartially selected potential jurors. Accuracy and efficiency are critical in the Clerk's office, as even a small error or omission in marking evidence, indexing or filing legal documents, or an error in disbursing funds will affect the life or property of a litigqantand their family. MISSION:The mission of the County Clerk is to protect the integrity and accuracy of the judicial records of Jefferson County SuperiorCourt while serving the public and legal community in a professional, efficient and timely manner. To that end, it is our goal to cultivate and honor impeccable qualities of ethics, knowledge and commitment to public service in our staff. The Clerk is established in the Washington State Constitution as an independentlyelected office within the executive branch of government to maintain the finances and records of the Superior Court outside the direct control of the judicial branch and the legislative branch. This separation of MISSION powers is a constitutional protection assuring the citizens of integrity and impartiality in the administration of the Court by making the Clerk directly accountable to the STATEMENT people. GOALS FOR FY2022 GOALS & 1. Insure timely, fair and professional performance of all functions of the Clerk’s office while maintaining safetyfor staff and the public. 2. Respond appropriatelyto the mandates of the Blake decision. OBJECTIVES 3. Improve safekeeping of records and exhibits of the court. 4.Prepare the office for the transition to new leadership. 5. Maintain fiscal administration according to law and approved procedures. OBJECTIVES FOR FY2022 1.Masterand refine techniques for providing alternate digital access to court processes. 2. Actassertively to implement Blake-related processes and reimbursement. 3. Manage risk and waste by eschewing non-mandated functions. 4. Reviewand update documentation of procedures. 5. Review paper and digital records for timely application of retention schedules. 202 - 202 Biennial Budget Prior to the 2008 downturn our office saw approximately1200 cases filed each year and we processed 35,000 documents per year. The economic SUMMARY downturn reduced filings significantly, and they gradually rebounded. The COVID 19 pandemic again greatly reduced filings, as well as trial activity, by virtue of moritoria of filing certain types of cases and the holding of jury trials, and people's reluctance to participate in the public sphere. In 2021 we are still experiencing a moratorium on eviction filings, and since February we have seen a nose dive in criminal filings following the Blake decision. The nexus for charging events was frequently a traffic stop and search that turned up drugs, and that is no longerhappening. We will soon see a steep upturn in eviction cases. We have a new culture of resolution of cases through plea agreements instead of trials, which has always happened, but now that is almost exclusively how criminal convictions occur. We have had only one criminal jury trial this year, and that was for a murder case in which there was just no possibility of agreement nor was dismissal an option. This means that there are even more continuance hearings, as matters get kicked down the road as parties seek resolution, but speedy trial rights need to be addressed in open court. Continuances create just as much need for resources as do hearings in which the case moves forward, so the heavy reliance on plea agreements is a shift of resources away from laborintensive jury trials. So it feels like there is more unproductive work. What seems to be happening is the court is monitoring many time-consuming negotiations which will ultimately resolve cases outside of the courtroom. We find ourselves in the ironic position of notifying more jurors than ever of their jury duty but calling very few to the courthouse for service. Instead of calling 55 people to be sure we can seat a jury of 12 plus two alternates we now call four groups of 30, which is ourmaximum occupancy for the courtroom, just to be sure we will be able to get enough people into the courtroom to find 14 who are willing and appropriate to serve. In the past it was a habitual practice to call a panel almost every week and about two thirds of the time to cancel the trial rightbefore it would occurred because the matter would settle at the last minute. Now we don't see that. We have only called two juries this year (for big long-lasting trials) and we needed those panels. So in a way, this is a change for the better as the needless inconvenience to the publicisreduced. During the pandemic, pursuant to a general order from the Supreme Court, this office has begun offering no-cost electronic filing, which costs us money and time, and reduces fees received from FAX filing, which had a mandatory filing fee. If we did not have to publish these digital records to paper this would represent an efficiency and not a burden. At some point our Court will be ready to become a digital recordscourt, and when that happens we will no longer need to maintain redundant sets of records. But we are not there yet. The clerk's office began tokeep a dual set of digital records and paper records in 2002, and we look forward to the day when we become a fully electronic court. We continue to cope with the State's case management system, which demands more staff time than in the past to do less work. Ifour office was still as busy as we were back in 2008 we would definitely have needed to ask for more staff, but the reduction in case load has allowed us to maintain the functions of our office with existing resources. In addition to the digital record, which is the permanent record, and the paper record, which is the record theCourt uses, we have older cases on microfilm. It used to be that in order to destroy paper court records clerks were required to microfilm the case records. As aresult prior clerks created about 485 rolls of microfilm, and we must maintain a microfilm viewer so the public (and the clerks) can access the micriofilmed documents (approximately all records prior to 1998.) Many clerks have managed to digitize their microfilm, which bears consideration here.We currently pay approximately $2000 every year to license and maintain the viewer and its software. I have not seen this as a priority, but it may be that a future clerk will want to make that change. If so, I would encourage you to support such a project. This will be costly as the conversion to digital media has a cost, and more server space may be needed for that amout of records. Clerk Narrative - General Fund 2022 2023 Page 2 of 3 9/14/2021 202 - 202 Biennial Budget 20212023 2022 Current Request Request STAFFING Budget 5.935.93 5.93 FTEs STAFFING REQUIREMENTS: Clerk’s office staffing has been stable for over a decade and our current level should suffice during the next biennium. Besides the elected clerk, the office is served by a chief deputy, three fulltime deputies, one deputy who works two days a week as a clerk and one day a week as a Courthouse Facilitator, and a clerk-hire who works between two and 10 hours a month performing book-keeping functions that would be difficult to segregate in such a small office where all of us do many jobs to cover for vacations and those times when we have multiple sessions of court to attend simultaneously. The general rule of thumb is that for each additional judicial officer one needs three clerks to handle paperwork and attend sessions of court. Jefferson County Superior Court has been rated at 1.66 judicial officers for many years. An Organizational Chart is attached so that you can more clearly see how the workloadishandled. 20212022202 PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ExpectedProjectedProjected Legal Cases Filed 750800 700 Documents Processed 17,00020,00024,000 Jury Trials tentwelve four Non-Jury Trials & Sentencing by Plea 110120150 Hearings 15001750 1350 Cases Set for Trial 330 350350 Jurors Summoned 8900 72007200 LFO Payments $87,000 $80,000 $77,000 The pandemic has reduced activityin the office, moving many public contacts to phone, ZOOM and online transactions. Meantime, fewer cases are being filed due to changes in the law, general orders from the Supreme Court, and Proclamations from the Governor. That was a good thing last year, because it allowed us to split our staff and have approximately half the staff in the office and have the staff working remotely week by week so that if COVID hit our office, exposed folks could go home and unexposed staff could come to the office.Now that the courthouse is open again, we have the complexity of serving people in person and this is balanced by a slower than usual workload. The pace will pick up as the Blake resentencing funding comes through and the moratorium on evictions ends. I have projecteda gradual increase and do expect the office to be back to 1000 cases a year by 2025 if not before. Even with the downturn we frequently find ourselves having to attend two court sessions at once, and that creates a situation in which we are always "all hands on deck." Clerk Narrative - General Fund 2022 2023Page 3 of 3 9/14/2021 ORGOBJDESCRIPTIONTYPE2021 Orig Budget2021 Revised Budget2022 Request2023 Request CL33393333002CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENTRevenue (35,000) (35,000) (35,700)( 37,133) CL33601336120LFO COLLECTIONS REIMBRevenue( 1,515) (1,515) (1,859) (1,515) CL33606336003ADULT COURT COSTSRevenue( 1,200) (1,200) (3,000) (1,472) CL34123341031CIVIL PRBT & DOMESTIC RELRevenue (25,000) (25,000) (31,081)( 32,000) CL34123341083STABILIZATION SRCHRG - COUNTYRevenue (2,800) (2,800) (3,000) (3,000) CL34129341067OTHER FILINGSRevenue (2,000) (2,000) (1,500) (2,600) CL34134341049DV PREVENTION LOCAL CERevenue (20) (20) (20)( 22) CL34134341074REIMB COLLECTION COSTSRevenue (3,700) (3,700) (3,100) (3,000) CL34134341080SC RECORD SERVICESRevenue (24,000) (24,000) (26,000)( 26,000) CL34134341099CIVIL ARBITRATION FEERevenue - - (2,200) (2,300) CL34137341040CRIME LAB ANALYSIS ADMIN FEESRevenue (35) (35) (10) - CL34165341081SC WORD PROC/TRANS FEESRevenue (17,000) (17,000) (11,000)( 11,000) CL34198341078SC COUNTY CRIME VICTIMSRevenue (15) (15) (30)( 30) CL34250342020DUI EMERGENCY RESPONSERevenue -- (50)( 50) CL34270342021JUVENILE SERVICE FEESRevenue (360)( 360) (1,200) (1,000) CL35130353816SC CRIMINAL FILING FEESRevenue( 2,500) (2,500) (1,000) (1,000) CL35190353818OTHER SC PENALTIESRevenue (900)( 900) (1,500) (1,500) CL35191353819DUI DEFERREDRevenue (20) (20) (50)( 50) CL35721357001SC JURY DEMAND COSTRevenue (100)( 100) (100) (100) CL35722357002SC WITNESS COSTRevenue (250)( 250) (600) (266) CL35723357003SC PUBLIC DEFENSE COSTRevenue (6,500) (6,500) (4,000) (3,500) CL35728357005MISC SC COST RECOUPMENTRevenue (350)( 350) (200) (200) CL36140361101INTEREST INCOMERevenue (300)( 300) (500) (400) CL36140361102SC CURR EXINT INCOMERevenue (300)( 300) (500) (400) CL51230100700LONGEVITYExpense 5,400 5,400 5,400 5,400 101000SALARIES & WAGESExpense3 56,577 356,577 360,483 362,104 CL51230 CL51230200000PERSONNEL BENEFITSExpense1 28,354 128,354 121,892 122,193 CL51230310000OFFICE AND OPERATING SUPPLIESExpense 6,000 6,000 6,181 6,367 CL51230350000OFFICE EQUIPMENTExpense 1,000 1,000 1,031 1,062 CL51230420100POSTAGEExpense 5,359 5,359 5,520 5,686 CL51230430000TRAVELExpense 3,000 3,000 3,091 3,184 CL51230480000REPAIR & MAINTENANCEExpense 3,720 3,720 3,832 3,947 CL51230490000DUES, SUBSCRIPTIONSExpense4 00 400 4134 26 CL51230490600TRAINING, SEMINARS, SCHOOLSExpense 2,000 2,000 2,061 2,123 2021 Orig Budget 2021 Revised Budget 2022 Request 2023 Request Total Total Total Total Revenue (123,865)( 123,865) (128,200) (128,538) Expense5 11,810 511,810 509,904 512,492 Grand Total 387,945387,945 381,704 383,954 2022 FUND/DEPARTMENT:COURTHOUSE FACILITATOR 2022-2023 BIENNIAL BUDGET The Courthouse Facilitator program was created in 1999 as part of a pilot programfor Family Courts. RCW 26.12.240 and 26.12.802 and GeneralRule 27 create and govern the program, which is not a mandated service. The program exists solely to assist parties to family law actions under Title 26 and now, parties to Title 11.88.170 and Title 11.130. 165 actions, which are guardianships. The authorities create a legal capacity for staff with propertraining under GR27 to assist litigants unrepresented by attorneys select pattern forms created by the State for this purpose, and to fill the forms out and file them with the court. The BUDGET / Courthouse Facilitator cannot tell them what to put on the forms, but does explain the purpose, and review for completeness and signatures. She also explains how to comply with basic court procedures and how to prepare for hearings. Jefferson County has had a Courthouse Facilitatorsince 2003. PROGRAM Fund/Program Description RCWs The Courthouse Facilitatorprogram simultaneously increases efficiency within the court and improves access to justice for low-income families who cannot afford legal MISSION counsel while going through divorce, separation, custody and child support disputes. STATEMENT GOALS FOR FY2022 GOALS & 1.Provide timely, fair, accurate and cost effective public access to core services in a way that is genuinely helpful. 2.Contribute to smooth operations of the court by assuring that the paperwork that comes before the court is complete and appropriate to the action. OBJECTIVES 3.Assure sustainability ofthe program. 4.Stay upto date with a rapidly changing legal landscape. OBJECTIVES FOR FY2022 1.Update and maintain standard forms packets and instructions for the most frequently accessed functions of family court. 2.Provide the public sufficient time for consultation with the Courthouse Facilitator and for review of forms per local court rules. 3.Purchase yearly updates of family law software to stay current with changes in federal and state law. 4. Provide staff training so that the information given by our office is accurate, reliable and genuinely helpful. 5.Perfect methods of service delivery to serve the public as needed while maintaining safety and preventing lost opportunities for service. - Biennial Budget In 1999 the Legislature 'provided' funding by creating a filing fee surcharge of $20.00 on family law matters, and allowed courts to assess a user SUMMARY fee/cost per visit to fund the Courthouse Facilitator program. To keep pace with inflation we would need to collect a surchargeof $32.80 today, but do not have the authority to do so. In 2010 General Rule 34 created a right to waiver of filing fees and the in 2013 WashingtonState Supreme Court case Jafar vs. Wells precluded collecting the surcharge from people who qualify for a fee waiver. Predictably, revenues plummeted. Since the State of Washington (a frequent filer of child support cases under Title 26) and the majority of unrepresented litigants do not have to pay a filing fee or surcharge in family law cases, the only filers paying surcharges into Fund 106 are the minority of petitioners who have counsel or the means to pay. Until 2021 it has been the Clerk's policy to charge a $20.00 fee for appointments, but to voluntarily waive that fee for partieswho qualify for a filing fee waiver. In order not to deplete the fund entirely it is now time to come to the BOCC and seek authority to raise the user fee to $25 and to create a lesser fee for indigent parties by revising our local code to give the clerk authority to reset these local fees. In the past our office provided first come/first served drop-in Facilitator service one day a week, because it created the most efficient use of the Facilitator's time. With COVID that had to change, and an appointment-based system has been the rule for over a year. We have learned that making appointments without charging a fee has led to a pattern of reserving time that goes unused. To reduce the high incidence of no-shows we are implementing a procedure of requiring payment before reserving time, with the option of not accepting the payment if there is a sound reason to waive the fee. One sound reason would be that the purpose for the appointment is the review of final document before presentation to a judge. This is required by our own local court rule, and thus is governed directly by GR 34 under Jafar vs Wells. It is our hope that this pre-payment policy will lead to better, quicker access to the facilitator because no-shows will be disincentivized, and it will also increase the revenue to Fund 106 because no-shows will be prepaid. Prior to the 2008 economic downturn the Courthouse Facilitator was paid 100% from the general fund. A fund balance existed and was used to cover the cost of this position when the general fund was stressed. As a result the fund balance is greatly reduced. The fact that we provide this service for unrepresented litigants helps confused people navigate the court. This saves significant resources in the clerk's office and the courtroom and is a wise investment of resources, whether the service is paid for via Fund 106 or through the general fund, as it was untilapproximately 2009. This position is currently paid partially from Fund 106 and partially from the general fund due to the reduced revenue and balance in Fund 106. During COVID it has been a challenge to provide these services in a way that is both accessible and safe. We have a plexiglas screen and have recently provided a digital camera/mic for the facilitator, and now also provide the option of phone meetings, though these haveproved to be a very poor substitute for in-person sessions. General Rule 27 requires that Courthouse Facilitators receive training provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts, and because the AOC has yet to put together a training program for facilitators to assist with guardianships, we have yet to expand our services to include help with guardianship cases. This would certainly be helpful to family members filing pro se, and when the training is available we will take advantage of it. One final note of interestis that our facilitator plays a key role in helping parents in the foster care system resolve their dependency cases by working with them to enter parenting plans that become the basis for the successful completion of those cases. While the State pays or helps to pay for attorneys in the dependency cases, those attorneys do not help with the necessary family law cases. This leaves the parentsunrepresented in the case theyhave to file to complete the dependency. Fund 106 Narrative Courthouse Facilitator 2022 2023 Page 2 of 3 9/14/2021 202 - 202 Biennial Budget 20212023 2022 Current Request Request STAFFING Budget 0.080.08 0.08 FTEs Our CourthouseFacilitator has served in that capacity for 15 years and approximately 50% of the expressions of gratitude our office receives are specifically for her services. She is a paralegal and has taken advantage of all the training that has been offered. We reserve one day a week for her to serve in the capacity of a Courthouse Facilitator but when she is in the office and a procedural question regarding family law arises, she steps in and provides answers, which saves the rest of the staff a great deal of time and difficulty. Weare currently paying for approximately three hours of that day's work from Fund 106 and covering the remainder from the general fund. 202120222023 PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ExpectedProjectedProjected Faciliator Appointments 220230 210 During COVIDwe have had lower demand for services than was normal prior to COVID. We have allowed in-person visits throughout 2021, though we continue to provide telephonic appointments on a case by case basis. We keep track of appointments and do not bother to quantify the many times a day that our facilitator steps up to answer simple questions at the counter. Approximately one houra day is spent providing ad hoc clarification to unrepresented parties. When not serving clients on facilitator day, our facilitator updates and publishes a steady stream of pattern forms packets that make it possible for others in the office to help unrepresented litigants get started on their paperwork without the direct assistance of the facilitator. Fund 106 Narrative Courthouse Facilitator 2022 2023Page 3 of 3 9/14/2021 ORGOBJDESCRIPTIONTYPE2021 Orig Budget2021 Revised Budget2022 Request2023 Request 10634650346003FACILITATOR SURCHARGERevenue (2,000) (2,000) (3,001) (3,020) 10634650346004FACILITATOR USER FEERevenue (720) (720) (2,661) (2,640) 10651230101000SALARIES & WAGESExpense 3,958 3,958 3,959 3,958 10651230200000PERSONNEL BENEFITSExpense 1,702 1,702 1,703 1,702 2021 Orig Budget 2021 Revised Budget 2022 Request 2023 Request Row LabelsTotal Total Total Total Revenue (2,720) (2,720) (5,662) (5,660) Expense 5,660 5,660 5,662 5,660 Grand Total 2,940 2,940 - - 106 COURTHOUSE FACILITATOR