A Clallam County District Court judge said he would support the cities of Port Angeles and Sequim forming their own court for minor infractions, if municipal officials decide to do so.
“I have no dog in this hunt,” said Judge Rick Porter on Saturday.
Port Angeles and Sequim officials are mulling the idea of saving money by forming a joint municipal court — or creating separate courts for each city — instead of contracting with the county for District Court.
The City Councils of Port Angeles and Sequim are expected to discuss the idea at a joint meeting April 19. The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 W. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
Sequim city officials considered such a move last year, because of its distance from the Clallam County Courthouse, but decided it might cost too much.
The idea has resurrected in Sequim and occurred to Port Angeles officials because of Clallam County’s new funding arrangement that municipal leaders say has led to higher filing fee costs.
Sequim City Attorney Craig Ritchie said fees have doubled over last year, while Port Angeles City Finance Director Yvonne Ziomkowski said fees have risen by about 25 percent.
The change, intended to more appropriately distribute the costs among the county and the two cities, resulted in Port Angeles and Sequim paying roughly $59 for each case.
They previously were charged $18 for filings for traffic ticket cases and $72 for criminal cases, Porter said.
If a city has an increase in traffic tickets, it may also have an increase in filing costs, even if criminal cases decrease, he said.
Porter said the cities still make more revenue through traffic citations and other criminal fees than they pay the county in filing fees.
He said if Port Angeles and Sequim can nonetheless reduce their expenses by forming a municipal court together or separately, he would consider it a good move.
The major benefit is a shorter case calendar.
Such a move would also mean a lower caseload for the county. Together, both cities make up about 35 percent of his caseload, Porter said.
The West End also uses District Court, but has its own courtroom and judge, located in Forks.
Porter is the only District Court judge for the rest of the county.
He said District Court is currently overloaded and could use another part-time judge.
But Porter said a smaller workload is not why he would support the formation of a municipal court if that decision is made.
If Port Angeles and Sequim end their contracts with the county, Porter said District Court would likely have to cut its clerical stuff.
But, he added, their services would be needed by the two cities.
They would also need to find a part-time judge and one or two courtrooms.
The Port Angeles and Sequim city councils are expected to make a decision by the end of the year.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
