HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/19/1999 Work Session
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MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY, APRIL 19,1999
The city of Springfield council met in the Jesse Maine Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield,
Oregon, on Monday, April 19, 1999, at 5:42 p.m., with Mayor Maine presiding.
ATTENDANCE
Present were Mayor Maine, Councilors Fitch, Hatfield, Leiken, Lundberg and Simmons.
Councilor Ballew was excused. Also present were Police Chief Bill DeForrest, Finance Director
Bob Duey and Human Resources Director Frank Hotchkiss and Municipal Court Judge Richard
Curtis.
Mayor Maine called the meeting to order for the purpose of providing work performance
information to the Judges of the Springfield Municipal Court. The first item of discussion was
that of Presiding Judge Curtis.
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Judge Curtis first expressed his concern about the undermining of his priority holds by the
County jail staff. The City contracts for five priority hold beds that are not subject to the matrix
system. In noting a "loophole" in our contract, jail staff are counting Springfield referrals
incarcerated at the Forrest Work Camp. Judge Curtis said his Court looks bad when the priority
holds are not honored. Bob Duey said he was working on this issue with the jail administrator.
The Council members felt this lack of enforcement of our priority holds was unacceptable and
will intervene if necessary.
Councilor Fitch asked if five priority hold beds were sufficient to meet Springfield's needs.
Judge Curtis felt more are needed. The Judge indicated the serious problem associated with the
inability of the Court to force people to pay fines established by the Court. He believes that
having to serve time in jail would be a significant incentive to pay fines. He also feels that
turning the unpaid fines over to a collection agency would help. Bob stated he is working on this
option.
The Mayor told Judge Curtis that the Council will obtain a report from staff and will respond to
him within a week regarding a course of action on the jail priority hold issue.
Judge Curtis discussed a complaint issue briefly with the Council. The Council-members had
previously been informed regarding the matter.
Judge Curtis stated he is considering retirement and that this will likely be his last performance
review. He expects to retire by April 1, 2000. Council members complimented him on his
excellent service to the City.
The meeting with Judge Curtis ended at 6:00 p.m. and council reconvened into executive
seSSIOn.
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At 6: 10 p.m. council reconvened into work session to discuss Court administration issues with
Judge Strickland. He noted that the lack of adequate jail facilities is an "acute problem" and felt
Springfield should consider building its own jail. He felt that reduced Court and Police costs
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April 19, 1999
Page 2
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associated with the "recycling" of repeat offenders would help to offset the cost of a jail. He
believes people appearing before the Court would be motivated to pay fines if the option was to
spend time in jail. Currently, these individuals know they will be matrixed out the County jail.
He said he would prefer a 50-bed facility.
Judge Strickland said he is working with Court staff to see if the cost of Court appointed
attorneys could be reduced. He is reviewing the option of contracting with a few attorneys ,to
provide this service. The results of this research will be shared with the Council when complete.
Judge Strickland said he would like the next Court employee hired to be fluent in Spanish so
interpreter service would be more readily available. Although the need is somewhat limited, the
accessibility would be a significant convenience to the Judges. The Mayor inquired if this would
be a conflict of interest for an employee to serve in this capacity. Bob said that Court
Supervisor, Kathy Cunningham, is reviewing this matter.
Judge Strickland was asked if he felt the use of a collection agency would be effective in
collecting fines. He felt it would not help much. He believes a major incentive would exist if
the person who fails to pay fines were incarcerated. This'is not feasible unless we have our own
jail.
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The Mayor noted that Judge Curtis is planning to retire next year and inquired regarding Judge
Strickland's interest in being considered as the successor. Judge Strickland responded that he
would be interested in being considered. Council members complimented Judge Strickland for
his service to the City.
The meeting with Judge Strickland ended at 6:30 p.m. and council reconvened into executive
seSSIOn.
At 6:35 p.m. the executive session was recessed and council entered into work session to discuss
Court administration issues with Judge Joseph. The Judge noted that "driving while suspended"
is a major issue and the Court is unable to collect huge fine amounts that accumulate of many
years. He is reviewing the possibility of being able to take the license plates off of the person's
car to render it unusable. He said this is not without potential problems including the fact the
person arraigned may be driving another person's car. He will report back when this matter has
received further review.
Judge Joseph complimented the Court staff for its professionalism and stated he feels it is a
privilege to serve as a Judge in the Court. Council members complimented him for his service to
the City.
The meeting with Judge Joseph ended at 6:40 p.m.
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Mayor Maine expressed her concern that the issue of priority holds at the Jail be reconciled,
consistent with our contractual guarantee of five beds, as soon as possible. Bob Duey will
follow-up on this matter. She also asked Frank Hotchkiss to recommend a process for replacing
Judge Curtis and for determining if it is necessary to recruit for a third Judge following Judge
Curtis' retirement. She also noted that Chief DeForrest will research the possibility of removing
license plates from the automobiles driven by repeat offenders. She inquired if seizing vehicles
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was a feasible alternative. The Chief responded that would currently be difficult to implement
since the City does not have adequate storage facilities and the process is very staff intensive.
With regard to the jailing of repeat offenders with outstanding warrants, Councilor Fitch inquired
with the Chief about the cost savings of getting these individuals off of the street. This resulted
in the Chief describing the possibility of conducting a space needs study for a new jail. The cost
of the study would be approximately $11,780. Chief DeForrest noted a space needs study for
both ajail and a fire station would be $15,080. He noted the current space needs study will cost
$17,000.
Mayor Maine cautioned that the City should give careful consideration to other impacts while
exploring the feasibility of our own jail. She provided several examples of how this might
become a problem.
Councilor Hatfield expressed his view that the County should continue having the responsibility
of providing jail service but that the City should review its options. Councilor Simmons
expressed a similar view.
Chief DeForrest agreed that it was most desirable for the County to provide jail service if this
service was adequate to serve the need. He noted that if the City considered building a jail, it
should have 40 to 50 beds. He noted that this would also help address current regional unmet
needs. Councilor Hatfield stated he would like a more formal assessment ofthe need for such a
facility and a financial feasibility analysis following the completion of a space needs study.
Mayor Maine asked that the issue of a jail space needs study be scheduled for a future Council
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Maine adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m.
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Maureen M. Maine
Mayor
Attest: