PORT ANGELES – If Clallam County voters want a third Superior Court judge, they’ll probably have to tax themselves to pay for one.
They also may get a chance to boost the sales tax to pay more deputies, more assistant prosecutors and more public defenders.
Clallam County commissioners considered funding the third judgeship Tuesday and decided to hand off the issue to the county’s Law and Justice Council of law enforcement officers, corrections officials, judges and politicians.
The commissioners’ proposal:
Add funds for a third judge to the tax hike that Sheriff Bill Benedict has proposed to hire additional deputies, and fold in Prosecuting Attorney Deborah Kelly’s expected request for more assistants.
The Law and Justice Council, which will have its next meeting on May 8, would choose among a one-tenth, two-tenths or three-tenths of 1 percent sales tax increase.
Each tenth of a percent would produce revenue of about $1 million a year.
The county’s share of a third judge would amount to half his or her salary – $72,275 – plus the wages of at least one support employee, probably more.
