WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Finance and Administrative Services Committee PROPOSED 2001 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET

Transcription

1 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Finance and Administrative Services Committee PROPOSED 00 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET October, 000 The meeting was called to order at :00 a.m. by Committee Chair L. Ward Nelson in the Council Chambers, Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington Also Present: Robert Imhof Sam Crawford Absent: None DISCUSSION OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE S 00 RECOMMENDED BUDGET (PUBLIC DEFENDER, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY/LAW LIBRARY, SUPERIOR COURT/CLERK, DISTRICT COURT, ADULT PROBATION, JUVENILE PROBATION/COURT, SHERIFF/JAIL)(AB000-) Public Defender John Ostlund, Public Defender, stated that their base objective is in the mission statement, which is to provide high quality representation to each client, do it as cost-effectively as possible, and to maintain confidence that they are doing that. The objectives he developed for the year 000 were too broad. He's done a better job with the 00 objectives by making them more measurable and tied to the County strategic plan. The problem has always been that the caseload exceeds the number of staff members. They are always on the edge of not being able to meet objectives because of the caseload. That's the way it has always been. Hopefully, as the County plan is developed, a long-range goal is to work toward allowing caseloads to approach the national standard. They have always been far above the national standard. They have had a lot of problems this year. The cases coming in are finally leveling off and, in some cases, decreasing. The adult felony caseload is still increasing. The number of juvenile civil cases, which they litigate with the Attorney General's Office instead of the Prosecutor's Office, is skyrocketing. A few weeks ago the process changed so that all the dependency and termination cases that used to be heard by the Lummi court is now going to be done in the state. His caseload for that has really gone up and will continue to go up. Imhof asked the reason for that change. Ostlund stated he had not heard why. He just heard about it the previous week. It will impact his office. He has one attorney assigned to that division, but it looks like the workload will be for more than one attorney. On the positive side of this is that the Defender's Association has been working to get the State of Washington to fund dependencies. At one time, they sued the case, but they lost. Now, it may happen. Until it happens, it is going to be a problem of the County. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

2 A continuing problem over the last couple of years was losing senior attorneys because of the strong marketplace. They are also leaving because of their frustrations with the workload and feeling like they are not doing to job they should do for their clients. It creates a lot of internal conflict in his office. He could see losing three felony attorneys next year unless he can do something about it. He is trying to get the th attorney. It has been referred to the Law and Justice Council. He is trying to do things internally because he doesn't have time to do research. They've been improving computer access to improve research. Those are the ongoing problems he faces. The additional service requests (ASR s) are to address those. Two ASR's were denied. One was the Rule intern for $,00. He would like to contract with Northeastern Law School in Boston. Every third quarter, the students are required to go out to work. They go to different types of law firms. Two of the students' experiences have to be with public interest law firms, such as public defenders. His hope is to pay a $,00 stipend to fly a student out here. Then he would have help all year. The other ASR was cut back. It was the WestLaw access. His office and the Prosecutor's Office signed on with Premise this year for a joint contract for computer research. The Prosecutor s Office has broken off of that contract and went with WestLaw, which is internet-based research. That left his office alone with Premise, who raised the rates very high. He is trying to negotiate another rate that is less expensive, but it is still more than what he budgeted for. It is necessary for his attorney's to do any research quickly. The goals for next year are to increase efficiency, have more resources to do these things, and reach further out into the community. In, he started the adult drug court. It has been very successful, but is not free. The problem is that the drug court clients don t go away. It is a continual effort by a. attorney to handle the drug court. The benefits are great. They have some money to expand. They are now in the process of planning to implement a juvenile court. The gains to the community are well worth the efforts. Imhof asked if WestLaw is the same as what the Prosecutor s Office has, whether the price is still more than budgeted, and the difference between the two. Joan Bird, Office Administrator, stated it is a $,00 increase over what is budgeted. Imhof asked the alternative. Ostlund stated the alternative is to not do any computer research. He is also trying to negotiate a better price on a statewide basis. There are problems with that. King County is negotiating, and he may be able to piggyback on King County. Nelson stated an objective is to reduce caseloads. He questioned what the national standards are. Ostlund stated the national standards are the same as in Washington State, which is 0 new felonies, 00 misdemeanors, or juveniles per year per attorney. They are trying to work with the state and nationally to Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

3 make sure all public defender officers are counting cases the same way. Also, what was considered a misdemeanor when the standards were developed really isn't the same. He is trying to look at what actual work effort is required for each type of case. It is useful information, but time consuming to gather that information. Nelson asked if it has to do with the management information system (MIS). Ostlund stated no. The MIS is information and database sharing so one doesn't have to separately enter the same data at the jail, Public Defender's Office, court, and Prosecutor's Office. Nelson questioned the timeframes to have the MIS implemented. There is no ASR for resources for that. Ostlund stated the County is looking at one pot of funding for that. He didn t know when it would happen. He has been on the committee for the MIS for years. Nelson asked if the Public Defender's Office is ready to implement it now. Ostlund stated he was not. Nelson questioned why it is listed as an objective. Ostlund stated the Washington Defender's Association has a retreat scheduled in January to figure out how to do it. It may involve keeping time records and analyzing those time records. It is needed on a statewide basis. Nelson asked if they are adequate for these objectives for added community service programs. Ostlund stated community efforts don t cost money. They cost time and effort. He wants to meet the goals of the Native American and Hispanic communities. Clients need to have trust in what his office is doing. They would serve the client s needs better by finding resources for the client. It is not a money issue, but a time issue, measured by the amount of time put into it and what they get out of it. Nelson stated he was impressed with the objectives. Mr. Ostlund outlined innovative approaches to save frustration of the department and to increase efficiencies. Prosecuting Attorney/Law Library Dave McEachran, Prosecuting Attorney, submitted paperwork. He's had a good year. He's secured funding from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking (HIDTA) funding for drug cases they are handling. The number of drug cases is up. They are a continuing problem. There are many problems in the southern part of the state regarding methamphetamine ("meth") labs. The state patrol has been involved in drug interdiction. They have drug-sniffing dogs that they are using at traffic stops. They are seeing a burgeoning area in that regard. He also has funding from the Public Works Department for an attorney who is working in that area. It is stable and long-term funding. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

4 He has also had success in retaining attorneys. The average term of employment is ten years. It is one of the goals they have. They have had a number of performance goals looking at caseloads. He is looking to reduce the caseload to 00 cases per attorney in District Court. He will reach the goal of keeping 00 cases per attorney. That number is twice as many cases as the attorneys should have. In Juvenile Court, the goal this year was to be at 00 cases per attorney. He will meet that goal at the end of the year. That number is about. times more cases than the attorneys should have. For felony cases, he tried to reach a goal of 0 cases per attorney. He is not going to meet that goal. There will be at least 00 cases per attorney. He is still struggling in Superior Court. He needs another staff position there. Regarding the performance measures, he is looking at case disposition time. In District Court, where they handle misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors, the goal was 0 days. He is approaching that. They are now at days. It was over 00 days at some point. That goal is for District Court cases. For Juvenile Court, the desire and goal was to have a case handled within seven days. They are still higher than that, at days. He is trying to get that accomplished. It will take more time. It is a difficult goal to reach. For Superior Court, he has a -day goal of getting a case in and either filed or not filed. He was making good progress, but they are at days now. He thought they can get it down next year. They've had great strides in technology, which has been a main goal because it can increase their efficiency and help deliver services to the public. They now have automated pleadings. They utilized software so attorneys can integrate some of the material from the databases onto forms. When someone is arrested and the report comes into his office, the support staff will enter the information into the database. When the attorney gets the case and files it, the information goes into the database. When an offer is made to the defense attorney, the attorney can generate an offer form that is sent out electronically. It also adds data that goes into the support staff s database. It will automatically generate a guilty plea statement. The support staff has to put some further information into that. The final document in the process is a judgement and sentence. Attorneys are involved integrally in processing the forms. It is a terrific innovation that is working well. It is used extensively for Superior Court cases. Every year, the legislature changes their sentencing, so they have to tune it up every year. He asked to reclassify a staff person to do software tune-ups. He was looking to extend that to other divisions in the office. His office has also had staff training on the computers. He trained the attorneys on using some of the display devises, such as Powerpoint, in the trials. He also changed their legal research engine. WestLaw came out with a better product tied to the internet. The attorneys can access it from anywhere with a password. The office is so busy that it is hard to do substantive work such as research and trial preparation during the day. The attorneys mostly do the Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

5 research at home. They can access the research search engine now on the internet. Imhof asked if it would be worthwhile funding WestLaw for the Public Defender's Office. McEachran stated it would be. Hoag stated some attorneys have said they haven t found WestLaw to be updated and information is missing. She asked if there is a better product out there. McEachran stated this is the best product. He was amazed to hear that. WestLaw updates its information continuously. From the State Supreme Court, the case is input into the system within minutes. It can connect with the U.S. Supreme Court and the Ninth Circuit Court. Crawford asked about check diversion. He questioned what part of funding goes towards that. McEachran stated it has been a major problem in law enforcement for years. The law enforcement agencies cannot and will not investigate non-sufficient funds (NSF) check cases. There is no personnel to do that. They've set up a diversion program. The defenders who go through the program pay for it. He has a private entrepreneur who runs the program. The contractor will obtain his wages from individuals who write the bad checks. One diversion requirement is to make sure that the merchant gets information, such as a drivers license number. The check goes to diversion. A letter from his office will go out immediately to the person at the last known address. The letter would indicate that the check must be made good within seven days. There is a fee that pays the entrepreneur. If nothing happens, he sends a second letter. If nothing happens then, they see if the case can be prosecuted. NSF checks are hard to prosecute. It is difficult showing the intent to defraud. Law enforcement loves the diversion program. Nelson stated Mr. McEachran developed strategies for staff research and solutions. He asked about looking at the allocation of time regarding caseloads, which was discussed with the Public Defender. McEachran stated the waiting system is difficult to evaluate. Nelson asked if it would be an objective. McEachran stated he didn t know how to have an objective standard for that. The standard for Pierce County is cases, but it is not a weighted standard. It is only a count. Some cases, if they plea, will not take as much time as they would if it went to trial. It would be very difficult to weigh. Hoag asked about increased expenses for HIDTA funding. McEachran stated the percent and percent figures referenced was purely a step increase. There is not a change. He has not added personnel. Hoag questioned how he ended up with a percent increase. Nelson stated he wanted to ask about all the salary and wage increases at once, at the end of the hearings. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

6 Desler stated part of difference could be things like career paths. When people go from one type of deputy to anther type of deputy based on criteria, there is an adjustment. Hoag asked about the. percent increase in operating transfers. McEachran stated the increase is for the drug court. It is running out of money. Drug court asked for money. He was able to give them $,000 to keep the drug court going. Hoag asked if he transferred money. McEachran stated he could transfer money from the drug fund to Superior Court. Imhof stated the drug fund is money the County gets from seizures. The money is put into a fund that has stipulations on how it can be used. The County has to get a judge's approval to use the money in the fund for different things. This just reflects some of the transfers out of that fund. Hoag asked about HIDTA funding. McEachran stated it is money from the federal government for cases on the border. They ve funded an attorney and a support staff person in his office. The increase is money they both receive and spend. Hoag questioned the ADS general liability and Victim Witness Assessment funds. She questioned whether those funds come from other sources or the County. McEachran stated they get revenue from court judgements and sentences. An amount is assessed to every defendant, and the amount differs based on the type of crime. A percentage of that amount goes back to the County and goes to his office for victims. He has staff that deals specifically with victims and witnesses of crime. Hoag questioned whether either of those funds affect the money coming out of the County budget to fund the department. McEachran stated these funds, and any expenditures, are generated by the amount of money they receive McShane asked about HIDTA. He asked the consequences if the County didn t take the HIDTA funding. McEachran stated the cases would not be prosecuted. The federal government officers would let the criminals go. That has happened in the past. The federal government sees it as a local problem in addition to being a federal problem. There have been instances of very large amounts of drugs coming into the County. They are seeing a large amount of British Columbia marijuana, which is now the best in the world. There are other drugs that are coming into the county. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.) McEachran continued to state that the U.S. Attorney s Office doesn't have the personnel to do those unless there is a lot of money connected with the arrest. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

7 They have a sliding scale on when they take jurisdiction. If the amount is over 00 pounds, they will take jurisdiction. The County ends up prosecuting a huge number of those cases. The County did get the HIDTA grant. He is working with the Attorney General on a bill to provide monies to all border counties to get money for handling the impact of the borders. Whatcom County is impacted in many ways. He will handle 0 extraditions this year specifically because of their position on the border. The average time in jail is 0 days for these people. He wanted the state to help fund that cost. McShane stated he used to live in a border town that didn t do this. The problems were a disaster. He questioned whether money also goes to the Public Defender. McEachran stated no. He was told that the HIDTA program had never before funded personnel. They initially denied his request. He went in front of the HIDTA group to state his case. This was an unusual thing. They are trying on a statewide basis to get recognition of the border impacts. They should be able to go forward in 00. The bill would fund all the system, including the courts, jail, prosecutor, and public defender. Nelson questioned whether the WestLaw research would impact the Law Library if attorneys are doing more at home. Janai Lane, Law Librarian, stated the public doesn't have the option to use WestLaw at home. The public and lawyers in the community can only come into the library and use WestLaw during the 0 hours per week that she is in the library to give them access. It won t affect their access. She piggybacks her subscription onto the Prosecutor's Office, but it is necessary to have a separate subscription for all the users who come to the library. Nelson questioned whether the attorney visits have dropped. Lane stated that the attorneys have hour per day access to the library. She has no way to know when they are coming in. Regarding the benefits issue. Her predecessor didn t have a family like she does, so her benefits are more expensive. Her salary is less because of a lower salary step. Nelson asked about the ASR. Hoag stated most were referred to the Law and Justice Council. Lane said the only ASR was the $,000 one-time expense for subscriptions. Nelson asked if Ms. Lane could measure the usage of the subscriptions. Lane stated she keeps close tabs on that. McEachran stated the library has been reduced over the last eight to ten years. It is funded from revenue from court filings. The book costs go up more than the revenue. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

8 Superior Court/Clerk N.F. Jackson, Superior Court Clerk, stated he was available for questions. Nelson stated Mr. Jackson's objectives were easily understood. Jackson stated the first objective, the differentiated case management, is the highest priority of the Law and Justice study. The request was referred to the Law and Justice Council. Most ASR s are dealing with the civil arena and were all sent to the Law and Justice Council, which is a civil and criminal council, but focused on the criminal. He hoped the civil side doesn t get forgotten. Nelson read the objective regarding expeditious conclusion of non-criminal disputes and speedy justice for those accused of crime and their victims of crime. He questioned how Mr. Jackson planned to do that, and how to measure it. Jackson stated case management manages it. There is off-the-shelf free software available from the state that would permit them to differentiate the nature of civil and other cases at the time of filing, to get them on a managed fast-track and to tickle litigants and attorneys to meet court-set deadlines. It would manage trial and discovery schedules in a timely manner. That is working already with criminal cases. Many of the civil cases languish. They can manage these things. The differentiated case management objective includes a case manager. That person would be the person to manage these things. It is thought to be an embodiment of the primary objective of the court that justice should be expeditious and timely. Nelson stated it would reduce the cases and utilize the case manager to evaluate each case more effectively. Jackson stated that was correct, by early issue identification. There are indicators and performance measures, although they may not be obvious. Arbitration has been used effectively to get cases resolved. They have implemented and are measuring domestic relations cases by managing them and sending them to mediation. They have seen a percent drop in domestic trials as a result of that new way of handling domestic relations cases. He needs a courthouse facilitator. The most significant thing they can do in public service is to have an expert on staff to help people do negotiations themselves. They have a 00 percent dedicated revenue funded courthouse facilitator now. That person is seeing over,000 people per year. He asked for another one. That request went to the Law and Justice Council. Nelson asked how they know there is a problem. He questioned what pro se litigants are. Jackson stated they are people without attorneys. Nelson asked how they know there is a problem. Jackson stated there are two ways to know. One way to know is the number of people they turn away at the counter because they can't help those people. The other way is from the law library, because they can t be helped. He implemented a phone queue to get an Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

9 appointment with the courthouse facilitator. That queue frequently leaves 0 people per week who have to call back and queue up the next week. Filing fee surcharges wholly funds this service. It is not consuming current expense money. Imhof stated that a second facilitator would generate more filings that would pay for it. Jackson stated it might not. There would probably be more filings, but the second facilitator would cost some money out of the General fund. It would be money well spent. Nelson stated it might reduce all the costs eventually. Jackson agreed. The greatest benefit from this is that court time is diminished. Pro se litigants who didn't know what they were doing were clogging the courts. Now, those people go into court tutored, mentored, and with a script. They are also settling cases that don't even go to court. They will have an agreed to divorce decree and just ask the judge to sign it. Imhof stated that, like most good ideas, it runs into a lot of resistance up front. After it takes effect, everyone takes credit for it. Jackson stated the attorneys don't have to spend all day sitting while someone fumbles through the process. Nelson asked how they know when the objective of working with sister courts is complete. Jackson stated they are not doing it now, but hope to. It has crosspolitical boundaries with the District Court. The question is whether they can have a single kiosk or filing counter for people to go to. People don t know the difference between the courts. Have a main office for both courts. Nelson stated that is similar to the Health Department's consolidation of services. Jackson stated it is primarily for the administrative area, and doesn t tie into case type or jurisdiction limits. There are some problems, but there may be other things to do. Nelson stated it is a good idea. Hoag asked about the jury coordinator. Jackson stated it is not a new position. He and the District Court administrator jointly supervise the position. There is a centralized jury coordination system. They summon,000 jurors per month. This coordinator is for either court. Hoag asked about the. percent change for Superior Court. She questioned whether it is the percentage of change in the approved budget or if it includes things referred to the Law and Justice Council. Jackson stated it does not include anything referred to the Law and Justice Council. The primary reason for the increase is the drug court, which is a single ticket item for $,000. Revenue is coming in an equal amount. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

10 Imhof asked if it includes the recommended increase in the court commissioner salary. Jackson stated it does. There is a five percent increase, getting it up to percent, which is the recommendation from the administration. Desler stated the other element is the extension over a -month period of the increase to the Superior Court judges salaries. District Court Bruce Van Glubt, District Court Administrator, submitted handouts. He would make four points. One point is regarding their ASR, which is not addressed with the consultants or the Law and Justice Plan. It is a civil request. He confirmed with the consultants that no civil issues will be dealt with in that plan. It is not an issue that will be dealt with in that way. District Court has made changes and improvements in how to do business administratively. They are trying to improve customer service and also manage the workload they have to do. They've increased their use of volunteers, which has been quadrupled. They are looking for new tasks for the volunteers. They improved the working relationship with the collection agency by meeting with them weekly. He redistributed numerous tasks within the office to make customers have easier access. He is working on specific objectives for specific jobs. They've completed this task with the Jury Coordinator, the Calendar Clerk, Civil Clerk, and revenue and collections. They are looking at how to streamline the office and make the resources more accessible to the public. They have made changes in revenue collection. It is not an issue of money. It is an issue of holding offenders accountable. They've made changes on how to process accounts and deal with the collection agency. It will result in monetary benefits to county. The fourth issue is the external forces they have no control over. The improvements they could make are process-oriented. They don't generate any of their own business. They are responsive to what the other departments bring to them. He outlined things for the ASR. The most significant is that the jurisdiction limit for civil cases was raised on June from $,000 to $0,000. He anticipated that they would see a significant increase in civil cases being filed in District Court. The civil department is his biggest area of growth at this time. The numbers don't actually reflect the true growth because civil cases are far more complicated than infractions and criminal cases in terms of processing and staff time. They are very labor intensive and involve a lot of paper work. It involves far more processing than criminal cases or traffic infractions. Nelson asked how they would achieve their objectives. Van Glubt stated there are different ways to do what they are required to do, and they could be more efficient and result in greater revenues. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page 0

11 is. Hoag questioned whether the $0,000 limit is the ceiling. Van Glubt stated it Van Glubt continued to state that he made three changes. One change is the application of bail that is collected from clients and how it is applied to accounts upon conviction. A second change is to the time pay agreements. Imhof questioned whether they take credit cards for bail. Van Glubt stated he believed so. They are about to implement an internet payment system for the court as well. Hoag questioned whether there was a way to make sure a person didn't call his or her credit card company to cancel the payment. Van Glubt stated he never had a problem with that. He didn't know whether one could technically do that. Van Glubt continued to state that he arrived at District Court months ago. At that time, one could go for six to nine months without paying any money on his or her account, prior to going to collections. Now, the person gets a one-time pay statement. If the person doesn't pay, then he or she gets a warning notice, and then a final collection notice. If one doesn't pay in 0 days, he or she will get turned over to a collection agency. He's seen a lot of response from that, and it is easier for people to get their time pay agreements on track. Hoag asked if half of the money is lost to the collection agency. Van Glubt stated they don't lose anything. The collection agency has an add-on fee, but the court does not lose anything. In addition, the court gets a percentage of the interest that the collection agency collects on the contract. It is not like a private business contract. Van Glubt continued to state that the changes were all in effect in June. Every month since June has netted the largest amount of money they've ever collected for those individual months. Nelson asked what they are going to do differently next year. It is important to identify goals for each position. He questioned whether that would be done for next year. Van Glubt stated it will be done for some of the positions. That activity began in 000. Nelson questioned what result would be expected. Van Glubt stated the result is improved customer service, a better flow of work and paper work through the office, and a reduction of stress for the employees. Imhof asked if the collection changes lowered the workload on the staff. Van Glubt stated it has increased the workload because more payments are coming in. Each of the payments has to be processed. That activity has not lowered the workload. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

12 Imhof asked if they've been able to streamline that process. Van Glubt stated they have not yet. Imhof stated it would be a good objective. Nelson asked about salaries and benefits. They asked for an increase of one full-time equivalent (FTE) employee. He questioned whether the additional FTE is reflected in the increase. Without that increase, there is still a four percent increase. He questioned whether there is a step increase. Van Glubt stated that is where he anticipated additional medical benefits. There are no reclassification requests. Any increase was dictated by Union contract or from administration. Hoag stated the applications of time and bail are excellent. She asked where the money goes. Van Glubt stated the amount of money brought in would far exceed the ASR they are asking for. Hoag stated they requested a minor remodel. Van Glubt stated that was for a different department, District Court Probation. Van Glubt continued to state that 00 percent of what they collect does not go to current expense. A certain percentage goes to the state. Hoag asked if the $0,000 increase is the amount going to current expense. Van Glubt stated yes. It is a conservative projection. Imhof asked about the District Court Commissioners. District Court commissioner salary is 0 percent of a Superior Court commissioner salary. They have been approved for percent of a Superior Court commissioner. He asked the reason for the disparity, and whether there should be equity among the commissioners. Desler stated he did an analysis of other District Courts and found that the level paid to District Court commissioners tends to be on target with what is going on in the state. They found something different with Superior Court commissioners. Hoag stated they looked at this last year in committee. Van Glubt stated the packet he handed out, at the bottom of the first page, is what they can expect to see as a result of the money they are asking to spend. It outlines very specific tasks he wanted to see happen. He went through task by task on what the County will see for its money. The following pages outline how their workload has changed. The second to last page is a graph showing how the workload increased overall. They exceeded the amount lost from the City of Bellingham. They only lost nine percent when Bellingham left. They have exceeded that. Hoag asked for further explanation. Van Glubt stated he projected figures from through 000. For each category of case type that he deals with, he shows not only the raw figures, but also the percentage change from year to year. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

13 Specifically, the type that has gone down is the criminal cases. Those were significant. They are nowhere near as time consuming in terms of processing for staff time. Crawford asked why they only dropped nine percent if Bellingham has 0 percent of the population. Van Glubt stated that when the City of Bellingham recriminalized their court, they only took one category of cases, which were the criminal cases. They had already had their infractions. They don't have a civil court at all. The part that dropped was only a small percentage of the things they do. Adult Probation Fred Thompson, District Court Probation Director, stated he was available to respond to questions. Hoag asked about the minor remodel not granted in the ASR. Thompson stated other offices could hear privileged conversations. This was the option that the Facilities Maintenance Division recommended. Nelson asked about the certain targeted percentages, such as domestic violence, alcohol and drug treatment, and mental health. Thompson stated they do whatever the courts refer to them. Nelson stated they are trying to utilize more community resources to meet the sentencing conditions. Thompson stated they've always done that. His information pointed out how they do that, and the percentages of those cases. In the criminal justice plan, it talked about being a broker of services. They've done that for over years. They have tried to get outside agencies to provide the services, but he still has to monitor and coordinate those services to make sure they are being done and follow up with the clients when there are problems. Nelson stated they are listing this as an objective even though they already have done that. He questioned what the measurements and goals are for 00. Thompson stated they have to deal with what is coming at them and how to manage that as best they can. They are trying to utilize outside resources as much as possible. Nelson asked if they are measuring the number of people placed in treatment. Thompson stated they are. Nelson asked if they measure the repeat offenders and how effective those treatments are. Thompson stated they don t quantify that. There was a study done by the University of Washington on deferred prosecution, which pointed out a 0 percent success rate for treatment and supervision. Whatcom County is right around percent. The County used to be higher, but it has gone down. He didn't know if the success has gone down, or if they are catching the people being Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

14 unsuccessful. For instance, they've increased the urinalysis drastically. They are catching more people who are using drugs than they have before. When they do catch them, they take those people back to court. Therefore, the person may be viewed as a non-success. They also view people going back to court as a success. It depends on how they look at it. Nelson asked if the ASR for the probation officer was to make the current position permanent. Thompson stated yes. Nelson asked why it was a one-time expense and not a permanent ongoing expense. Thompson stated he didn t know. He was surprised about that. The position brought in over $00,000 in additional resources because of additional referrals from contract cities. The office has had an increase in responsibility, not just from referrals, but also in what they have to do with the referrals, such as the new Drinking Under the Influence (DUI) laws. That creates a stress on the office. The Law and Justice Plan talks about using pre-sentencing reports. A few years ago, they had an average of 0 to 0 people on pre-sentence supervision. Now, because of the DUI law, they average around 00 per month. Those are intensive cases and responsibility. It requires a lot more work. Nelson stated he was trying to get to the measurements. They are looking at a targeted caseload of 0 offenders per probation officer. Thompson stated they used to have fairly even caseloads. One probation officer would handle cases with a variety of intensity. This past year, they separated out the caseloads so each officer has a different intensity level of cases. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side B.) Thompson continued to state that a low-risk person goes more toward an administrative probation officer. His highest priority was a full-time clerk to help that person, because that person is trying to manage between 00 and 00 people, which they just can't do. He can't afford the additional clerical support to help that person. He did not separate out the intensive caseload. He did separate out the pre-trials within the last six months. The pre-trials will go to one probation officer, unless the person has a probation case and a pre-trial. That is a low percentage. He did generate statistics to get a feel for the kinds of cases that they supervise. He did a count one day, which was time consuming. Out of District Court, percent of their cases were alcohol, drinking and driving, or domestic violence and assault cases. They are dealing with the most serious cases. There may be additional cases that go with each person. The other four percent include theft and hit and run cases. Nelson stated the Council needs measurements to see how that is being accomplished. He asked if that is what these types of measurements are trying to be. He questioned whether the department would track the number of offenders with good performance that are moved to minimum supervision. Thompson stated he is tracking the number of people in the particular officer caseloads. Although a case may be considered a minimum risk, there still may be problems with the case Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

15 to keep it from being transferred. By separating those out, he hoped to increase the fact that the person would be targeted for a lower supervision level by moving them to a different caseworker. The high-risk cases are currently under the same supervision category. Hoag asked about the increase on page for general fund operations - contract, which is a percent change. She didn t find what that change is related to. She asked about the increase. It wasn t the money amount for the probation officer. The rest seems to be from salaries and benefits, which they are going to talk about later. Desler stated a conversion would have been listed as a one-time expense, and is not in the probation budget. When it is added as an ongoing expense, it is then added into the budget. Hoag stated it wouldn't change the amount because it is only switching categories, from one-time to ongoing. It is the same amount of money. Desler stated he would look into it. The amount for the. FTE would have shown up in the category of one-time expense. They are also adjusting the contract for probation. There are contracts with the City of Bellingham, and are assigning personnel to the contracts at a slightly different percentage rate. They need to look at the total adjustment to the entire budget, which is a. percent increase. Hoag asked about the $,000 request for increased urinalysis (UA) testing and questioned whether it is something that must be sent out to labs or could be done in-house. She asked if there is a cheaper way to do that. Thompson stated that, because of the budget, he changed this a couple of years ago to go to an outside lab because of the cost. The County saved money and was able to do more UA's. Although he still went over the budget, they are doing a lot more UA's. Hoag asked if this is the cheapest way to do it. Thompson stated it is. The jail just started using the same service. Desler stated they are consolidating all the urine testing procedures done in the County into the least expensive way they can find. They are making those changes this year. They want a consistent mechanism for all departments. Thompson stated the department has been drowning because of the additional requirements they are required to do. People want more and more probation supervision. He is asked to do a lot of stuff he can t do. The Law and Justice consultant recommended two additional probation officers right away and a third probation officer a year later to handle the workload they have now. The graph shows that they ve worked very hard. In, they made about percent of their budget. Last year, they made more money than their budget. There is a question of legality there because the probation fees have to be spent toward the service. In the year 000, they will do the same. He would like to see the Council provide additional resources to lower the stress and workload in the department. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

16 Juvenile Probation/Court Steve Paus, Juvenile Court Director, stated he provided responses to Councilmember Nelson s questions. His department is in the midst of change, driven by the work they did with the consultants regarding reorganization and changes to detention. It is a big cost item. There is a change in the juvenile court system in Washington by going to a risk assessment model. Some of the issues have to do with the kinds of kids in the facility. More and more young people are going into the mental health facility and there is no means for the staff to handle the kids. He contracts to an outside facility for mental health services. The reorganization is around changing the emphasis from offender focus to a community justice model, realizing that there is more than one client. The victim is a client as well as the community itself. Programs will be responsible to those needs. He re-deployed the juvenile probation staff. He divided the juvenile probation staff by school districts and communities. The schools now know who the probation officers are. That is going to go a long way. Kids are evaluated for risk and are supervised accordingly. He concentrates on moderate and high-risk offenders. The officers get involved in their lives. The goal is to reach a caseload average of 0. Probation officers are to be out in the community. The victim service piece has been a great service they added three years ago. The grant provided cost savings in court time. They cut out all contested restitution hearings by having one officer concentrate on victims. The officer invites the victims into the court and gets a victim impact statement so the juvenile hears the emotional impact of his or her actions. Impact panels address that issue as well. He contracted for mediation and resolution services. The objectives for 00 fit along that path. They also fit with the strategic plan that the County has developed. Nelson stated the first several objectives are part of their legal requirements. Paus stated that was correct, and that is why he didn t respond to those. He is seeing a trend of a drop in fillings, but an increase in bed days and detention. He wanted to address that by looking at recommendation of the Law and Justice Council, which is to continue planning for a juvenile multipurpose facility. Before that, they need to first look at alternatives to detention. That will be his direction next year. They always say that they have kids in detention who are a serious threat, but most of the kids are flakes that just don t follow through. The only response has been to put them in detention. It doesn t work. Nelson asked if they would provide adequate staffing to be consistent with that plan. He asked how that is measured. Paus stated he would measure it by their goal to reach an average of 0 cases. As with all the law and justice programs, many ASR's were forwarded to the Law and Justice Council. Hoag asked about $0,000 for juvenile detention medical that was not approved. Paus stated he used to have a line item for nursing services from the Health Department. That was taken from the budget and absorbed into the Health Department budget. He put it in there because he didn't know where the Health Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

17 Department was going with that. There was some talk that the department wouldn't provide it. Now he's heard that the department will provide it. Nelson asked about providing service to the victims of crimes. Paus stated the activity is working out well. The traditional service to the victim is restitution and collecting money. Non-traditional service is to advocate for the victim. Sometimes victims have needs that are not addressed by the system. Sometimes a victim is re-victimized by not being informed about what is going on with their case. One person is concentrating on personal contact with every victim. There is an outside evaluation. Satisfaction surveys are sent out. Imhof stated he hadn t heard anyone complain about the service. Nelson asked about the revenue summaries. They lost a lot of grants. He questioned why. Paus stated they used to have a contract for six beds in detention that paid $ per day when filled. Now, the contract is for a maximum of two beds. That money was generated in detention and used to pay for a lot of services. It is not there anymore. These are all state contracts. The idea was for good candidates for low term kids that have a good connection with the town. He houses them here instead of sending them out. When state beds and institutions go down, they look at the community dollars, take the money away from communities, and keep their programs going. A lot of the counties lost money on those beds. The other losses were for programs funded from the legislature, such as early intervention, that the legislature felt wasn t working. His office has taken a hit lately. Imhof stated the reduction in grants is something they will see more and more of. Taking that funding away creates an unfunded mandate. Hoag asked about $,0 in equipment and capital outlays. It includes replacement of Scott Air Packs. She asked if that was in response to the fire drill that was done in which the County failed and whether it is jail-related. Paus stated that is correct. It is in the detention facility. Imhof stated it is old equipment. Hoag stated there was one tank, and now they are replacing it with five units. She asked if that was because of a recommendation in response to the fire drill. Bill Van Diest, Detention Manager, stated there was no response to the fir drill. It is due to changing times. They had one air tank that only dealt with one officer. One officer has to stay back and make sure everything is out of there. Now, they have more staff and need more tanks. The kids also have to have tanks. One old tank was SCUBA tank. Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page

18 Nelson asked about the CJS on the budget. The service charges decreased. Paus stated it reflects that they don t have those costs of day-to-day operations anymore. They have enough money to fund the position. Nelson asked if the money is from the grant. Paus stated CJS is an ongoing biennium grant from the state. Hoag asked how many staff are generally full time on each shift. Paus stated on a / schedule, there are full-time staff and at least ten part-time people to fill out those shifts. There are four people on the floor at a time. Paus stated the last item on the second page is about detention. One critical need is to have a support staff position. It was not included in the Law and Justice Plan, but been was referred by the County Executive to the Law and Justice Council. It is a basic need. He has requested for the last five years to get a position up there. He has a lot of people that are paid a high wage to do clerical work. They are not trained to do that, and the quality of record keeping is not up to par. It also costs a lot in overtime. If he could have this person, he can investigate fees not being collected from parents for parent pay. They would have the staff time to investigate that issue and probably pay for the position. It was in an ASR, but was referred over to the Law and Justice Council. Sheriff/Jail Nelson asked if he has measurements for it. Paus stated he will have. Dale Brandland, Sheriff, stated one foundation for the budget was to take a look at the idea of substations. He proposed that they put a substation in the east end of the county. Staff it with a sergeant and five deputies and clerical support. All of them have ideas on what is going on with substations and how effective and efficient they are. There was a certain amount of interest by the County councilmembers, and part of the Law and Justice Plan recommendation, to look at that. Rather than take a giant leap to create a bunch of them, he suggested creating one, find out the infrastructure needs there would be, and come back to report what happened with the process. The process would be good. Then, move into the substation process countywide. It would be a pilot project. Nelson stated a wish is to reduce response times. He questioned by how much they would be reduced. Brandland stated now they are canceling calls. Deputies are not responding to certain calls because there is not adequate staff to deal with them. Nelson asked what having new officers will accomplish. Brandland stated he would look at how to respond to calls. He would like to have the ability for those people working in substations to take ownership for problems in that area and deal with the problems. Now, they have deputies working all over the county. They've done that on purpose. They want deputies to be familiar with the entire Finance and Administrative Services Committee - BUDGET, 0//000, Page