CC Minutes - 05/13/98 Work Session

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would ask the individual to talk to payment staff about arranging for bail, but the court did not deny anyone the right to trial if they were unable to post bail. The court merely asked people to make a good faith effort to do what everybody else does. Judge Allen added that bail made it more likely that people come in to participate in the trial they had requested. He pointed out that there was a cost to the City when the court had to arrange for trial. Ms. Taylor asked how much time the court spent on issues such as parking, which she termed "of no danger to anyone." Judge Allen responded that parking was a tiny element of what the court did, but parking and dog-at-large citations tended to get people's attention more than any other charge. Ms. Nathanson said that she was impressed by the report the council received from the ad hoc committee. She said that the process worked, the evaluation and the committee's work was good, and she was pleased with the way Judge Allen had been handling matters in a time of organizational change and turmoil. She thanked Judge Allen. Ms. Swanson Gribskov said that she was pleased that Judge Allen was Eugene's Municipal Court judge. She asked for follow-up on the surveys to ensure a better return rate. She said that presumably, at some point the court's customer satisfaction forms would be a piece of data into the evaluation process. She agreed that the process was a good one and the time between evaluations was appropriate for such a thorough review. Ms. Swanson Gribskov said that if the council began to consider the possibility of hiring full-time in-house judges, it would be no reflection on Judge Allen's performance and she would welcome his input in that discussion. Mr. Meisner said that he was impressed with the committee's work and the balance of the committee. While the committee had some areas of concern or question, the report was clear that any issues or problems committee members had were addressed in their conversations with Judge Allen. He said that the question of whether the council would implement the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) study of the recommendation for full-time judges was a separate one. At this point, he wanted to continue the present structure. Mr. Meisner thanked Judge Allen in particular for his willingness to be involved in the analysis of how other organizational changes affected the court's workings. Ms. Nathanson said that the implementation of the NCSC report would have organizational and budget implications for the court. She anticipated recommendations in the coming year from the court that could lead to supplemental budget requests. She noted the difficulty of attempting to budget for organizational needs in the absence of specific program parameters. Mr. Farr arrived at the meeting at 11:50 a.m. Ms. Nathanson said that over the past year the council had received several reports from staff that might have benefitted by review by the judge and court administration staff. She cited the housing code report as an example which, if adopted, would have implications for the court because of the institution of new violations with associated fines. Ms. Nathanson questioned whether there was some way for the City to contract with private providers for parking lot operations differently and to ensure that there was some standard of consistency in service delivery and ticketing. She encouraged the City Manager and Court Administrator to consider why the situation that Ms. Taylor referred to continued to occur. MINUTES--Eugene City Council May 13, 1998 Page 2 11:30 a.m.