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PSPP071321PUBLIC SAFETY, PERSONNEL & PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING July 13, 2021 Elected Officials Participating Virtually Staff Participating Virtually Councilmember Kristiana Johnson Whitney Rivera, Municipal Court Judge Council President Susan Paine Uneek Maylor, Court Administrator Scott Passey, City Clerk 1. CALL TO ORDER The Edmonds City Council virtual online PSPP Committee meeting was called to order at 5:04 p.m. by Councilmember K. Johnson. 2. COMMITTEE BUSINESS 2. Add Court Clerk Position Ms. Maylor explained there are multiple courts with one full-time judge; the staffing for those courts is double digit, Edmonds's staffing has historically been single digit. The new Driving While License Suspended Relicensing program the court will be implementing will require an additional staff person. The packet includes the Court Clerk's job description, Judicial Needs Estimate by Full -Time Equivalents, and court staffing. Questions and discussion followed regarding what information is considered in the Judicial Needs Estimate, comparable cities, comparable cities that may not have comparable courts, and support for an additional court clerk position (Council President Paine). Action: Continue discussion at next month's PSPP meeting. 3. Add Assistant Court Administrator and Court Clerk Positions Ms. Maylor explained in reviewing court management styles and positions in King, Snohomish and Skagit Counties, the accounting and financials in Edmonds are not necessary to the standards of the other courts. For a number of reports, financial transactions, criminal histories, etc. there is only one set of exempt eyes for reports that require two sets. Most of the accounting is done and audited by the lead (a union position). Another issue with the lead being in the union versus an exempt employee is that person covers for the Court Administrator during absences and has to deal with HR issues that arise so it cannot be a union employee. The request is to make that person exempt so they can address HR issues in the Court Administrator's absence as well as provide three layers for accounting and audits (Administrator, Assistant Administrator and staff that do the transactions). Questions and discussion followed regarding whether the Assistant Court Administrator will be an internal or external hire; basis for the knowledge, skills and abilities for the Assistant Court Administrator job description; cases the position will be auditing; proposed salary level for the position; lowest NR level available for a supervisor; salary levels in other courts; and support for an Assistant Court Administrator (Council President Paine). Action: Continue discussion at next month's PSPP meeting 4. Judicial FTE Recommendation 07/13/21 PSPP Committee Minutes, Page 2 Ms. Maylor relayed when she came to Edmonds she realized there were tasks not counted in the Judicial Needs Estimate including search warrants and Saturday/Sunday jail hearings. When she received the Judicial Needs Estimate, she realized Edmonds Municipal Court should have had a full- time judge based on the caseload and hearings. This was discussed with then -Judge Coburn, but then COVID hit which affected operations. When Judge Rivera was appointed, she was aware it was a full- time position but compensated at a .75 salary. She brought to Judge Rivera's attention that the Judicial Needs Estimate indicates the position should be full-time and that several tasks were not included. She also brought this information to the HR Director who indicated that could possibly be a labor law issue which was the reason for presenting it for Council review. Questions and discussion followed regarding the Judicial Needs Estimate that determines the FTE for judges, possible impacts of legislative changes on the judge's workload, the State's forecast for additional judges, who prepared Judicial Needs Estimate, whether the City is responsible for adhering to the Judicial Needs Estimate, a request to include caseloads in the Judicial Needs Estimate, how the Judicial Needs Estimate is developed, data that would help the City Council understand the court's caseload, and a suggestion to consider all the court -related items as part of the 2022 budget. Additional information requested by Councilmember K. Johnson: header on the Judicial Needs Estimate existing salary versus proposed salary, personnel policy related to a 5% increase, and further work on the Assistant Court Administrator. Action: Continue discussion at next month's PSPP meeting 1. Change Court Administrator Pay Grade to NR-20 Judge Rivera described the request to achieve equity in salary and vacation compensation for the Court Administrator. She explained Ms. Maylor is not a director under the executive branch, but as the Court Administrator she is in charge of all personnel and administration for the entire judicial branch. In comparing her pay with directors and other municipalities in the Puget Sound region, it was clear her pay grade needed to be increased to achieve equity for her role in the municipal court. There has been a lot of turnover in the court staff in the past; Ms. Maylor has helped rebuild the team. Questions and discussion followed regarding where on the NR-20 pay scale the position would be placed, concern with the percentage of increase going from NR-14 to NR-20, recent administrative law changes recognizing the role of the Court Administrator, appearance of a large pay increase versus the position being undercompensated in the past, historically low pay ranges for court staff, current salary versus proposed salary, personnel policy related to a 5% increase, and whether personnel policies are applicable to the judicial branch. Action: Continue discussion at next month's PSPP meeting 5. Special Event Permits and Amendments to ECC Title 4 Licenses Action: Schedule on next month's PSPP agenda. 3. ADJOURN The meeting was adjourned at 5:59 p.m.