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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFIN 2026-04-13 Item 1B - Budget - Additional Employees for Municipal CourtCity of Tukwila Thomas McLeod, Mayor Marty Wine, City Administrator AGENDA BILL ITEM NO. 1.B. Agenda Item Sponsor Legislative History Request Additional Employees for Municipal Court Valerie Marino, Deputy Judicial Branch Administrator April 13, 2026 Finance & Governance Committee April 27, 2026 Committee of the Whole May 4, 2026 Regular Meeting Recommended Motion ❑ Discussion Only ❑x Action Requested MOVE TO authorize the addition of a Court Operations Specialist - Bailiff and a Court Operations Specialist positions to the Judicial Branch. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Tukwila Municipal Court is requesting a budget amendment to support essential staffing adjustments within the Judicial Branch. Sustained increases in caseload filings, expanding legislative mandates, and heightened law enforcement activity have pushed current staffing to its limits. To maintain timely, effective, and compliant court operations, it is now critical to increase staffing levels, including converting the judge's position to full-time. This adjustment is not optional, it is necessary to ensure the court can meet its statutory obligations, protect public safety, and continue delivering reliable service to the community. DISCUSSION The City of Tukwila's commitment to ensuring public safety for its citizens, businesses and visitors is supported largely by the Tukwila Police Department. For the first time in several years the Police Department has reached full staffing levels, resulting in a measurable increase in proactive enforcement activity. While this is good news for the city, it is important to recognize the rippling impact of this increased enforcement coupled with legislative changes. Case filings at the court have significantly increased by 161% in the last year, with an overall increase of 279% in the last five years. The court is experiencing higher caseloads, including park speed zone photo enforcement tickets, search warrants, parking citations, traffic infractions, criminal violations, and school zone photo enforcement tickets. Legislative changes in recent years have introduced significant new demands on courts, stretching already limited resources and increasing the complexity of daily operations. For instance, extended jurisdiction for DUI cases and expanded responsibilities in domestic violence matters have dramatically increased administrative workload. A decade ago, DUI jurisdiction lasted two years; today, courts must manage these cases for five years. This longer timeline requires substantially more hearings, more party notifications, more case monitoring, 20 and far greater information exchange with partners such as the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Licensing. These added responsibilities are not simply procedural, they directly affect staffing capacity, timely case processing, and the court's ability to meet statutory obligations. Without corresponding support and resources, courts are being asked to do significantly more with the same —or fewer —tools. Strengthening court capacity is essential to ensure that legislative changes achieve their intended public -safety goals without overwhelming the justice system tasked with implementing them. Over the past decade, legislative changes surrounding domestic violence offenses have significantly increased the administrative workload for courts. What once required only two forms has expanded to 14 distinct documents that must be completed for each domestic -violence -related hearing. These mandates now demand rapid turnaround times, close coordination with local law enforcement record units, and ongoing monitoring to ensure timely return and processing of all required paperwork. Court dockets are consistently full, court dates are being set further out, and administrative workload has expanded beyond current staffing capacity. Hearings held have increased 19% since last year and 32% in the last 5 years. The current limited clerical staffing can no longer keep pace with the Court's growing caseload. The additional staffing will enable the court to: • Increase availability for court sessions • Prevent case backlogs and scheduling delays • Support faster adjudication of citations and violations • Improve service to residents, law enforcement, and community partners Adding a Court Operations Specialist —Bailiff (in -court clerk) position is equally critical. This role ensures accurate recordkeeping, efficient case processing, and smooth courtroom operations —functions that directly affect compliance, public safety, and operational integrity. Likewise, staffing the Court Operations Specialist (front -counter clerk) position is necessary to manage the growing volume of public inquiries, payments, citation intake, records requests, and customer service needs. Without these staffing adjustments, the Court will face mounting delays, increased administrative strain, potential liability due to missed steps in case processing and diminished service levels for the public and law enforcement. Proactive investment now will ensure the Court can operate efficiently, meet all statutory requirements, and adequately respond to the heightened enforcement activity of the Police Department. This is not simply an operational enhancement, it is a necessary step to preserve the efficiency, reliability and effectiveness of the judicial branch. https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/clerksintranet/Council Agenda Items/04-13 F&G Committee/Court Position Request/_Agenda Bill- Budget Amendment- Tukwila Municipal Court.docx 21 We respectfully request approval for a budget amendment totaling $276,192 to support the following staffing changes: 1. Add 1 FTE Court Operations Specialist -Bailiff position 2. Add 1 FTE Court Operations Specialist position It is important to inform the Council that these caseload increases also support the need to increase the presiding judge's position from .90 FTE to a full-time position. Since the judge's position is appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council, the request for increasing the judge's position will be submitted by the Mayor's office at a later date. FINANCIAL IMPACT Complete for all items with fiscal implications Disclaimer: Final terms and scope of work subject to review by the City Attorney Expenditures: Fund Source: • Expenditure - Budgeted $276,192 = $272,692 General Fund © Expenditure - Unbudgeted (salaries & benefits) + • Expenditure - Grant -Funded $3500 (equipment) • Revenue — One -Time (e.g. asset sale, surplus equipment) Receivables (if applicable © Revenue - Ongoing $813,282.53 (per Finance Department) ATTACHMENTS A. Case Filings (2021-2025) B. Hearings Held (2021-2025) C. Budget Supported Organization Chart D. 2026 Court Positions Salaries 22 https://tukwilawa.sharepoint.com/sites/clerksintranet/Council Agenda Items/04-13 F&G Committee/Court Position Request/_Agenda Bill- Budget Amendment- Tukwila Municipal Court.docx CASES FILED Year CASES FILED % DIFFERENCE (+/-) 2025 11,124 161% *2 park speed zone photo enforcement cameras implemented July 2025 2024 4,254 8% 2023 3,941 -23% 2022 5,092 74% 2021 2,934 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 11,124 *School zone photo enforcement began in October 2021 with 2 cameras 279% Total Percentage of Case Fillings Increase between 2021-2025 161% Total Percentage of Case Fillings Increase 274% 5,092 2,934 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021 CASES FILED —% DIFFERENCE (+/-) 200% 150% 100% 50% 0% -50% 23 HEARINGS HELD YEAR HEARINGS HELD % DIFFERENCE (+/-) 2025 11,155 19% *2 park speed zone photo enforcement cameras implemented July 2025 2024 9,369 6% *563 Blake Hearings 2023 8,845 5% *242 Blake Hearings 2022 8,413 2021 8,467 -1% *school zone photo enforcement began in October 2021 32% Total Percentage Increase of Hearings Held between 2021-2025 12,000 10,000 8,000 6,000 4,000 2,000 11,155 19% Total Percentage Increase of Hearings Held 32% 9,369 8,845 5% 8,413 2025 2024 2023 2022 HEARINGS HELD —% DIFFERENCE (+/-) 8,467 2021 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% -5 24 TUKWILA MUNICIPAL COURT PROPOSED ORGANIZATION CHART Court Operations Associatf Bailiff (1) (Add 1) Presiding Judge .90 FTE (Increase to 1 FTE) Judicial Branch Administrat or Deputy Judicial Branch Administrator r Program Coordinator/Cou Operations Supervisor I Court Operations Associate (2) (Add 1) Court Support Services Manager Court Support Services Ca Manager Court Support Services Specialist Program Coordinator/Cou Operations Trainer/IT Specialist Court Operations Assistar 25 2026 Court Positions Salaries Municipal Court Judge Social Security Medicare PERS Ind Insurance Medical/Dental Vision Life Ltd WPFML Total With Benefits Pay Grade n/a Monthly Annually 90% 100% Difference 90% 100% Difference $16,957.00 $18,841.00 $1,884.00 $1,051.33 $1,168.14 $116.81 $245.88 $273.19 $27.31 $946.20 $1,051.33 $105.13 $32.51 $32.51 $0.00 $1,891.56 $2,101.74 $210.18 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $54.74 $60.83 $6.09 $21,179.22 $23,528.74 $2,349.52 $203,484.00 $226,092.00 $22,608.00 $11,439.00 $11,439.00 $0.00 $2,950.52 $3,278.33 $327.81 $11,354.41 $12,615.93 $1,261.52 $390.12 $390.12 $0.00 $22,698.72 $25,220.88 $2,522.16 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $595.64 $595.64 $0.00 $252,912.41 $279,631.90 $26,719.49 Monthly Annually Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Court Operations Associate t-12 $5,408.00 $5,679.00 $5,963.00 $6,265.00 $6,575.00 $64,896.00 $68,148.00 $71,556.00 $75,180.00 $78,900.00 Social Security $335.30 $352.10 $369.71 $388.43 $407.65 $4,023.55 $4,225.18 $4,436.47 $4,661.16 $4,891.80 Medicare $78.42 $82.35 $86.46 $90.84 $95.34 $940.99 $988.15 $1,037.56 $1,090.11 $1,144.05 PERS $301.77 $316.89 $332.74 $349.59 $366.89 $3,621.20 $3,802.66 $3,992.82 $4,195.04 $4,402.62 Ind lnsurance $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 Medical/Dental (Employee/Spouse/2+ Children) $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 Vision $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 Life $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 Ltd $10.55 $11.07 $11.63 $12.22 $12.82 $126.55 $132.89 $139.53 $146.60 $153.86 WPFML $17.46 $18.33 $19.25 $20.23 $21.23 $209.51 $220.01 $231.01 $242.71 $254.72 Total With Benefits $9,347.14 $9,655.38 $9,978.43 $10,321.95 $10,674.57 $112,165.48 $115,864.57 $119,741.07 $123,863.30 $128,094.73 Monthly Annually Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Court Operations Specialist - Bailiff t-17 $6,405.00 $6,725.00 $7,063.00 $7,413.00 $7,784.00 $76,860.00 $80,700.00 $84,756.00 $88,956.00 $93,408.00 Social Security $397.11 $416.95 $437.91 $459.61 $482.61 $4,765.32 $5,003.40 $5,254.87 $5,515.27 $5,791.30 Medicare $92.87 $97.51 $102.41 $107.49 $112.87 $1,114.47 $1,170.15 $1,228.96 $1,289.86 $1,354.42 PERS $357.40 $375.26 $394.12 $413.65 $434.35 $4,288.79 $4,503.06 $4,729.38 $4,963.74 $5,212.17 Ind lnsurance $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $32.51 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 $390.12 Medical/Dental (Employee/Spouse/2+ Children) $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $3,138.83 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 $37,665.96 Vision $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $17.30 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 $207.60 Life $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $7.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 $84.00 Ltd $12.49 $13.11 $13.77 $14.46 $15.18 $149.88 $157.37 $165.27 $173.46 $182.15 WPFML $20.68 $21.71 $22.80 $23.93 $25.13 $248.14 $260.53 $273.63 $287.19 $301.56 Total With Benefits $10,481.19 $10,845.18 $11,229.65 $11,627.78 $12,049.78 $125,774.28 $130,142.19 $134,755.79 $139,533.20 $144,597.28 128,094.73- Court Operations Associate 144,597.28 - Bailiff 272,692.01 Total for clerk positions 26