MARYSVILLE – There is order in this court – lots of it.
Municipal Court Judge Fred Gillings sounded a lot like Mayor Jon Nehring when he talked about the court at Monday night’s City Council work session.
“We’ve had a lot of efficiencies the last two years,” Gillings said, adding that some new services have required “innovative thinking.”
Many of the changes involve paperwork – or the lack thereof. The court has made many changes in an effort to become more paperless. But it still has a ways to go.
“We receive buckets of files” that also have electronic versions, he said.
Gillings said he and the other Municipal Court Judge, Lorrie Towers, have been issuing protection orders since March of 2015. Previously that was handled by police and prosecutors. They have issued 104 for domestic violence, 82 for unlawful harassment and six for stalking or sexual assault.
Most of the citations in the court have to do with traffic infractions – 6,623 – but there were also 4,847 criminal cases. Total cases were 18,044, with 12,012 coming from Marysville. The others are from Arlington and Lake Stevens. Most of the citations are received electronically from Marysville police, another cost savings, he said. There were also nine jury trials.
The court had to use an interpreter 742 times; most often Spanish, Vietnamese, Russian and Punjabi.
“That’s how diverse our community has become,” Gillings said.
As a result, the court is using “telephonic” interpreter services, at a cost savings of $102 per case.
“We’re wed to that,” Gillings said. “We bring the attorneys along whether they want to or not.”
Video court hearings are another way they are saving money. There were 9,530 just from the Marysville jail alone.
Another new job for the judges is issuing search warrants. They are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They issued 282 last year.
“We get calls all hours of the night,” Gillings said, joking that might be why they are cranky some mornings. With the increases in workload, City Councilman Jeff Siebert asked if the courthouse is big enough for everything going on there. Gillings said there are some other city departments in different offices that they may need to use eventually.
“In the future we may need to grow,” he said.
Looking forward to this Monday’s regular meeting, the council will be studying changes in development regulations, as requested by the Master Builders Association. City Councilman Jeff Siebert said it’s easy to see why they want the changes because it would lead to more buildable lots. But planning director Dave Koenig said there are still plenty of constraints, but the changes would make the process more predictable for builders. There also will be a public hearing on an Emergency Medical Services levy.
The council also will:
•Consider a permit for Maryfest to put on the Marysville Strawberry Festival June 11-18. Parks director Jim Ballew said there will be no Fashion Show this year or Kids Day the Saturday before because of a lack of sponsorship.
•Consider a contract to build an area for a barbecue pavilion at Comeford Park, paid from a Community Development Block Grant and the Sunrise Rotary.
In other news:
•Mayor Jon Nehring talked about at Trade-Up event he attended at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. He said jobs are available in the trades industry that are not being filled, and those careers might be an option for those who don’t want to deal with college debt.
•Chief Rick Smith said police are clearing out people living under the bridges on the waterfront, as the city officially annexes acreage there on May 4. He also said even though his department has vacancies, many others do, too, but, “We are not going to lower our standards to get people on board.” Finally, he said the SWAT team’s new vehicle, a Bearcat, will be available for the council to see at Monday’s meeting.
•Ballew said the recent sold-out murder-mystery play went so well at the Opera House that the city plans to put on another in the fall, and maybe up to four a year.
