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Judge Leonard noted from the committee's recent conversation with Judge Allen that his primary areas of <br />immediate concern for the Municipal Court included the need for additional jail beds and the effect of <br />state and local budget reductions on the Municipal Court system. <br />Judge Leonard outlined Judge Allen's most recent accomplishments as Municipal Court Judge and noted <br />that he had instituted an amnesty program for unpaid fines in collection that had resulted in approximately <br />$130,000.00 in additional revenue for the City of Eugene. He further noted that Judge Allen had also <br />overseen the administration of the City's Downtown Public Safety Zone (DPSZ) as well as a concerted <br />effort to increase the use of certain court administration information technologies with the ultimate goal <br />of creating an entirely paperless process for the Municipal Court. Judge Leonard emphasized that the <br />Municipal Court's efforts to increase the use of paperless technology strategies were light years ahead of <br />similar State efforts. <br />Judge Leonard stated that after its four meetings to discuss relevant issues regarding Judge Allen's <br />performance, the committee was unanimous in its determination that Judge Allen's performance had been <br />excellent and that his contract with the City should be extended. <br />Mr. Perry referred to Judge Allen's concerns regarding State and local budget issues and recognized that it <br />would be challenging to meet the future budget demands of the Municipal Court system. <br />Mr. Perry noted that Municipal Court staff had been in contact with representatives from Springfield to <br />discuss the lease of a certain number of jail beds from the City of Springfield. Further discussions <br />between Eugene and Springfield officials would be forthcoming. <br />Mayor Piercy appreciated Judge Leonard's efforts as a member of the Judicial Evaluation Committee and <br />publicly thanked him and his colleagues for their time and efforts. She noted that she and the City <br />Council were very pleased with the judicial survey results. <br />Mayor Piercy referred to the committee's judicial survey regarding the human rights needs of the <br />community and asked if the committee had received any responses or input from local human rights <br />advocates despite the lack of direct responses to the survey. Mr. Perry responded that the committee had <br />wanted to expand the scope of the human right survey from previous efforts in 2002 and 2006. He said <br />the committee had attempted to contact the City's Human Rights Commission (HRC) to request its <br />feedback regarding the Municipal Court but had received no responses from any HRC members. <br />Mayor Piercy suggested that the current Human Rights Commission members might not have had any <br />direct experience with the Municipal Court as the reason they had not responded to the committee's <br />overtures. She suggested that the committee make additional attempts to directly contact the HRC. <br />Ms. Ortiz stated that the HRC had contributed to evaluations of certain Eugene Police Department areas <br />in 2002 and 2006. She suggested that the HRC's Civilian Review Board might be a group that could <br />provide feedback and input regarding Municipal Court areas. She also noted that Matt Beecher's had <br />been attempting to resurrect the HRC's human rights advocates committee and suggested that such a <br />group could also provide feedback on the Municipal Court processes. <br />Mr. Perry, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz, noted that a number of the ordinance violations listed <br />in the committee's evaluation memorandum were specific to the DPSZ. <br />Mr. Perry, responding to a question from Ms. Ortiz, stated that there would be significant cost savings to <br />the City of Eugene from the lease of jail beds from the City of Springfield. <br />MINUTES— Eugene City Council July 28, 2010 Page 2 <br />Work Session <br />