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Home My WebLink Aboutord1994-051WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 94 -432 CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Counc•I is Agenda date Assigned to. Originator. Executive AUG 0 3 1994 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL X94' ^inane' Division Head: Dept. Head: Prosecutor. Z Purchasing/Budget: Executive: 19 1 SUBJECT.' U 1994 Supplemental Budget Request #8 ATTACHMENTS: Ordinance Backup documentation SUMMARY STATEMENT: Please complete sections of box as appropriate & explain the item below. - Related County contract #E: Should Clerk schedule a hearing? NO X YES Requested date: Amount budgeted for this item /project: $ Is it or will it be within budget? YES NO lease explain below Budget line item number(s): Supplemental Budget Ordinance No. 8 adds appropriation to the following budgets: 1. The supplemental request for the Prosecuting Attorney appropriates $21,419 from Current Expense fund balance to implement reclassifications and career track movements negotiated with the Union. The supplemental request for the Criminal Justice Working Group appropriates $7,013 from Current Expense fund balance to install additional AS /400 connections. 3. The supplemental request for the Law Library is a part of the Criminal Justice Working Group request. The supplemental appropriates $740.00 from a Current Expense operating transfer for installation of an additional AS /400 connection. ORIGINATOR'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: Pass COMMITTEE ACTION TAKEN.• COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: 9/13/94: Council adopted the ordinance. 6 -1 with Brenner opposed. Ord 94 -051 Related File Numbers: Ordinmmce or Resolution Number (this item only): 1 SPONSORED BY: consent PROPOSED BY: Executive INTRODUCTION DATE: 8 f 9/94 ORDINANCE NO. 94 -051 AMENDMENT NO. 8 TO THE 1994 BUDGET WHEREAS, the 1994 budget was approved February 8, 1994; and, WHEREAS, changing circumstances require modifications to the approved 1994 budget; and, WHEREAS, those modifications have been assembled here for deliberation by the Whatcom County Council. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that the 1994 Whatcom County budget ordinance 94 -009 is hereby amended by adding the following amounts to the departments included therein: Current Expense Fund: Prosecuting Attorney 21,419 Criminal Justice Working Group: Prosecuting Attorney 740 Superior Court 2,220 District Court 25573 Juvenile Probation 740 Non - Department 740 Total Current Expense 28.432 Other Funds: Law Library Fund 740 Total Other Funds Z Total Supplemental 29.172 ADOPTED this 13th day of Sept. ) 1994. ATEBST: Council Clerk APPROVED as to form: ivil Deputy secutor WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM CO , WASHINGTON IeRA t A . Imhof, C proved ( ) Denied MS;AL Y4--n g��t Shirley Van ZaAten, Exe4live Date: - - y WHATCOM COUNTY Summary of the Supplemental Budget Ordinance No. 8 Department/ Description Amount Source of Fund Criminal Justice Working Group: Funds CURRENT EXPENSE FUND Prosecuting Attorney Reclassifications 212419 Criminal Justice Working Group: Prosecuting Attorney AS /400 Connection 740 Superior Court AS /400 Connections 2,220 District Court AS /400 Connections 2,573 Juvenile Probation AS /400 Connection 740 Non - Departmental Tnsfr to Law Lib 740 TOTAL CURRENT EXPENSE $28,432 OTHER FUNDS LAW LIBRARY FUND AS /400 Connection 740 TOTAL OTHER FUNDS 40 TOTAL SUPPLEMENTAL 28 172 CE Fund Balance CE Fund Balance CE Fund Balance CE Fund Balance CE Fund Balance CE Fund Balance CE Trnfr In WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET MODIFICATION REQUEST Department: Prosecuting Attorney Requested By: Kathy Walker, Senior Admin. The following budget modification is requested: Budget Transfer * X Budget Supplemental ** SOURCE: (Accounts to transfer from or funding source for supplemental) 1.2910.1000 Current Expense Fund.Balance ACCOUNTS TO INCREASE: 2600 -6110 Salaries 2600 -6210 Retirement 2600 -6230 Social Security 2600 -6269 Unemployment ($21,419.00) $18,439.00 1,476.00 1,411.00 93.00 TOTAL $21,419.00 PURPOSE OF TRANSFER OR SUPPLEMENTAL: (If more room is necessary attach additional sheet.) Requested funds would allow implementation of reclassifications and career track movements negotiated with the Union. Also includes a sum necessitated by the re -hire of an experienced employee at other than entry. (See Exhibit A) The position review process commenced during the. 1994 budget process. Funds to cover. the reclassification /career tracts costs were originally presented in the department's 1994 Budget as an additional service request. (See Exhibit B) Funds, however, were not appropriated. Other supporting documentation includes April 29, 1994, County settlement offer (Exhibit C), Union's acceptance of offer (Exhibit D), and a. grid outlining movements and associated costs (Exhibit E). Authorized By: I � Department Head: - r —Date: 7/18/94 Executive's Office: Date: Date Posted: I By: Transfers affecting objects 10, 20, or 60 must be autbocizcd by the county Executive. Transfers affecting other objects do not need Executive office afiprovaL *$ Supplemental requests, if approved by the Executive, will be forwarded to the county council for authorization. 10/91 ADDITIONAL SERVICE REQUEST /RECLASSIFICATION OF SUPPORT STAFF This additional service request attempts to address two of the stated goals contained in our Department Narrative; survival and retention of staff. Since th:e end of January,. 1993, this department has lost si.x (6) legal secretaries and three (3) attorneys. This request,_ however, only addresses the legal support staff classifications. The basis of the request begins with the reclassification of our legal secretaries from range 8 and 10 to range 10 and '12, respectively. Previous internal equities are addressed as well. This request would affect seventeen (17) positions. Reclassification requests were returned to us from Personnel with instructions to review in terms of reallocation of duties and responsibilities. We undertook a study of what tasks are presently being performed throughout the course of a work day. The study identified three functions, of a lower level clerical nature., that could be reallocated thereby increasing time available for higher level responsibilities; filing and file maintenance, data entry and copying and distribution of documents. The only problem with this process is that in order to reallocate one must have staff that can absorb the reallocated duties. To start this type of process would require, at a minimum, one data entry operator and a Clerk II. We don't have these two positions. We can't add duties or responsibilities unless we have the ability to reallocate, therefore, we have a catch twenty -two. Since our reality is a loss of approximately 55% .of our legal secretarial staff.' in a period of seven months,; we felt it incumbant to vie.. the situation from a different perspective. We undertook a review of salaries being paid by both the privated and public sector. We acquired salary information from the local Attorney General's Office, the City of Bellingham, law firms located in the City of Bellingham, and lastly the three Counties that are consider-ed comparable to Whatcom County (Thurston, Benton and Cowlitz). The average salary being paid to a legal assistant in our community is $1,867. Based on the information received from the three comparable Counties,. one derives an average salary of $1,897. The entry salary for a legal secretary in this department is currently $1,596 and after two years time in grade is increased to $1,737. One of the criticisms articulated in approaching salary from this fashion has been the issue of not being able to definitively demonstrate that the :duties and responsibilities of the positions being compared are identical. The need to compare "apples to apples" is irrelevant if an employee can, without increasing skill level, get a job that pays anywhere from $268 to $300 more per month within the community. The other criticism is that reclassification is suppose to be based on the addition of duties and responsibilities and not on demonstated ability produce to a tremendous quantity of high quality work. We believe that the inherent: stresses of working in this office require "an acknowledgement, in the form of monetary remuneration, for the vast quantities of work produced and the pace at which staff is consistently required to work. The best support for such a proposition is that which was articulated by one of the individuals who recently resigned. This individual resigned after a period of two months to take a job with the City that paid her $300 more per month. The individual also indicated that even if the County could meet the salary, an even greater issue was whether or not she wanted to work at the pace she was working for the next ten years. He:r answer was absolutely not. We have a tremendous staff, and as one outsider put it, ".isn'.t comprised of any dead weight ". This department can not continue to.;replace staff at the current rate. Revenue Source: Should be considered existing. The decrease in salaries due to attrition are more than sufficient to cover this increase. Therefore, we request approval. of this additional service request. - /� � ,/ �eneral �eamalera ;`" oLocal U/iziora, 231. Teamsters Whse., food Processing & Cannery Workers & s`',M u ,a +'y Public Employees — Whatcom & San Juan Counties, WA MICHAEL D. COLLINS Affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters BUSINESS REPRESENTATIVES EXECUTIVE OFFICER CHUCK EGGERT PHONE (206) 734 -7780 FAX (206) 734 -7783 SECRETARY - TREASURER STEVEN L.THORP 1700 N. STATE ST. — P.O. BOX H BELLINGHAM, WA 98227 June 2, 1994 Mr. Larry Mans, Manager Whatcom County Human Resources 316 Lottie Bellingham, WA 98225 Dear Larry: This is in response to your May 9, 1994 letter concerning reclassification of support staff positions in the Prosecuting Attorney's office. After careful con- sideration we have decided to agree•to the reclassification proposal as outlined in your April 29, 1994 letter. While we appreciate the time and effort that has been spent on this project, we need to again express our keen disappointment and frustration over your unwillingness to consider. further reclassification for the positions and individuals addressed in your May 9 letter. We reserve the right to raise the issues again, particularly as they pertain to law changes, creation of a paralegal classification, and a career track. Please consider this written agreement for the support staff review. We ask that the process to complete the reclassifications be moved along as quickly as possible so that the affected employees may receive retroactive pay adjustments. Please give me a call if you have any questions. Very tmily yours, , MICHAEL COLLINS Secretary- Treasurer MC:pn J %.j I I-ILIC Pate in Po sitioa Raiige/Step/Arnount Upgrade Rangc Retro U'Udzet. • or 1/1/94) ni -.or Promotion,: 1/1/94 - move to Step 7/52,699 - 7/1/94 .Sccrctary 11 11/1/93 6/1/51,571 no change (resigning 6/30) 1/1/93 6/2A/5I,664 no change 3/28/94 6/r--/SI,512 no change Ix.1ral Secretary 1 4/12/93 8/F-A/51,677 9/E/5I,714 5334.63 5823 promote to Lea Sccy 11 - 4/12/94 - 10/E/51,799 move to Step EA/5I,823 - 10/12/94 2/1/93 8/EA/51,677 9/E/51.714 5315.53 $798 promote to Lea Secy 11 - 3/20/94 - I0/E/5I.788 0 move to Step EA/5I,923 - 9/20/94 10/4/93 8/1--/S 1.645 9/E/S1.7 14 - movc to Step EA/S 1,747 - 7/1/94 5309.04 5632 5/24/93 S/F_A/S 1,677 promote to Legal Sccy 11 - 1/1/9410/1.7/ - Sl.M 5552.82 S1,283 move 10 Step 1 1.823 - 7/1/94 l.cg:il Secretary 11 8/1/88 10/7A/52.379 promoic to Lc.,al Sccy III - I/1/94 - 11/7/52.435 5340.76 5954 111()vC to Stcp 7A/52,481 - 7/1/94 I/1/89 10/7A/52,379 promotc to Victim /Witness Coor. - l/l/94 - 12/0/52.447 5413.33 $1,099 Move to Step GA/52,493 - 7/1/94 4/1/93 10/l/SI,958 promote to Legal Sccy III - 1/1/94 - II/EA/S1.901 5150A7 5409 move to Step I/5I.938 - 7/1/94 10/7A/52,379 promote to Legal Secy III - 1/1/94 - 11/7A/52.481 5613.34 S1,232 1/1/93 10/IA/51,894 promote to Legal Secy III - 1/1/94 - II/1/5I,938, 5266.11 5538 move to Step IA/51,976 . 7/1/94 1/1/84 10/7A/52,379 promote to Legal Secy III - 1/1/94 - 11/7/52,435 -5340.76 5954 move to Step 7A/52,481 - 7/1/94 12/9/93 I0/EA/5I,823 promote to Legal Secy III - 1/1/94 - 11/E/S1.965 5249.09 $512 move to Step EA/5I,901 - 7/1/94 6/6/94 - rehire 10/7A/S2,379 change to Legal Secy III rctro - 6/27/94 - 11/6A/52,390 0 C, Sil Contempt Case Specialist 3/1/90 10/4A/52,125 promote to Le-0 al*Sccy III - 1/1/94 - 11/4/52,175 5138.10 $445 move to Step 4A/52,216 - 7/1/94 URESA Specialist 1/4/88 10/7A/52,379 promote to Legal Secy III - 1/1/94 - 11/7/52,435 5340.76 S953 move to Step 7A/52,481 - 7/1/94 Domestic Relations 1/1/87 12/7/52,540 no change Coordinator 8/4/96 12/7A/52,598 no change TOTAL not inc' 'I any increase attributable to taxes, retirement, benefits or other components other r__ & I 11 Galt 1z -T-hiS n rv')�M I L518.439 II range and step actiustnicnis. an., toi-stnicnis. Bud„ et adjustment difference re-hire former ex need employee Administrative Secretary 3/16/87 11/7A/52,529 reclassed to Administrative Legal Assistant, Range 13/6A/52,649 -T-N714.92 5I,7227 1 1/1/94 - move to Step 7/52,699 - 7/1/94 TOTAL not inc' 'I any increase attributable to taxes, retirement, benefits or other components other r__ & I 11 Galt 1z -T-hiS n rv')�M I L518.439 II range and step actiustnicnis. an., toi-stnicnis. Bud„ et adjustment difference re-hire former ex need employee WHATCOM COUNTY Administrative Servic §'Department:' HUMAN RESOURCES Lottie Street Annex 316 Lottie Street Bellingham, WA 98225 -4010 TO: Linda Irvin FROM: Larry Mans DATE: July 19, 1994 SUBJECT: Prosecuting Attorney's Office Clerical Employees' Salary Review and Adjustments ., WEl11VID JUL 21 1994 SHIRLEY VAN ZANY5-N COUNTY EXECUTIVE As a follow up to yesterday afternoon's conversation, I have had the opportunity to go through the files regarding the review of clerical employees' compensation and job duties in the Prosecuting Attorney's Office; specifically,. your question with regards to documentation of retroactive compensation " to January 1, 1994. My files include the following information: 1. October 11, 1993. Mike Collins, Teamsters Local 231, confirms a verbal conversation which he and I had regarding insufficient time on the part of Whatcom County to complete a review of compensation and duties as it related to clerical employees. 2. October 22, 1993. I confirm the above in a memorandum to Mike Collins. 3. Letter of Understanding, January, 1994. Subsequent to our meeting in the Executive's Office, where it was confirmed that Whatcom County was not in a position to make final recommendations regarding salary and duty adjustments, Whatcom County and Teamsters Local 231 entered into a letter of understanding whereby we "mutually agreed the project will include retroactivity to January 1, 1994, to those employees whose job classifications may be reclassified to a higher range as a result of said review." 4. June 2, 1994. Mike Collins responds, agreeing to the reclassifications, revised-job duties and career paths. In event you have additional questions on this matter, do not hesitate to contact me immediately. LM /pl cc: Tom Sutberry Wendy Wefer - Clinton PA Clerical Review file 7.19c WHATCOM COUNTY Requested By: Criminal Justice Working Group The following budget modification is requested: Budget Supplemental ** SOURCE: (Accounts to transfer from or funding source for supplemental) WK Current Expense Fund Ending Fund Balance: 001.2910.1000 .................... $7,013.00 Current Expense Fund: Prosecuting Attorney 2600.7420 ................. $ 740.00. Assigned Counsel 3140.7420 .................... 1,480.00 Courthouse Facilitator 3160.7420 ..................... 740.00 District Court 1300.7420 ................... 2,573.00 Juvenile Probation 1900.7420 ...................:..740.00 Non - Departmental 4530.8351.111 ...... ....... .. 740.00 Total Current Expense Fund: ......... $7,013.00 PURPOSE OF TRANSFER OR SUPPLEMENTAL: (If more room is necessary attach additional sheet.) This request is part of the attached Criminal Justice Working Group request for additional AS1400 connections, described in the narrative request attached to this supplemental budget request and the Law Library Transfer Request. Authorized By: De P artment Head: ate: Executive's Date Posted: By:_ Transfers affecting objects 10, 20, or 60 must be authorized by the County Executive. Transfers affecting other objects do not need Executive office approval. Supplemental requests, if approved by the Executive, will be forwarded to the County Council for authorization. [supp.l &j] THMal Jusfige Woftg bwelp JUN 07 1994 SHIRLEY VAN ZANTEN COUNTY MemoTo: ............ ................:.............. From: N.F. Jackson, Chairperson Date: June 7,1994 Subject: Supplemental Budget Request " Multi- Departmental, law & Justice Request Please consider this supplemental budget request from the combined law and justice offices represented in the "Criminal Justice Working Group." The request is for $7,013 from the Current Expense ending fund balance, for the purchase of additional AS /400 emulation cards, at the cost, including tax, of $740 each, for the following offices, and the purchase of two AS /400 "dumb" terminals, at the -cost of $917 each, as follows: Prosecuting attorney ....... 1 PC Emulation Card. Assigned Counsel ............... 2 PC Emulation Cards Courthouse Facilitator .............. 1 PC Emulation Card District Court ...... 1 PC Emulation Card, 2 Dumb Terminals Juvenile Probation 1 PC Emulation Card Non - Departmental (Law. Library) ....... 1 PC Emulation Card The "Budget Modification Request" forms for Current Expense and for the Law Library Fund are attached. Likewise, please find attached a DRAFT "Criminal Justice Information Sharing Plan." The draft plan describes a multi - phased attempt to reduce law & justice: manpower needs by facilitating the sharing of information. Phase I, the purchase and utilization of the AS/40_ 0 fias already been accomplished. Phase II, the connection of the state's court computer system to the AS /400 has just been done. Phase III, the marriage of the separate AS /400 applications is in the design stage, and once it's completed and implemented, Phase IV will marry the stand -alone AS /400 applications and the state's applications into a single, integrated whole. This request is to complete Phase 11, the connection of the state and county computers, by adding AS /400 access to nine desks within the courthouse, so that the minimum number of offices and persons within each office may access the state information. We originally compiled a "wish list" of all those desks we would like to have connected to the AS /400, but pared the list to an absolute minimum of nine terinals. We've settled for shared terminals when separate terminals might be a greater savings of manpower,'. realizing that we must pare the costs. We know that we will be saving time and effort by making information available to each other, on -line. We . are vitally interested in being able to measure the labor savings,: justification for completing the plan and as additional argument to persuade the state to facilitate the plan. We cannot yet estimate, we don't think, the labor savings when we *are able to eliminate written, telephonic acid in- person requests for data which will be on -line in the state system. Different offices will realize manpower savings at different phases. For instance, the Prosecutor, Jail, Sheriff and Police Department will realize significant manpower savings once the existing AS /400 files are merged, in Phase III, but the Superior, District and Juvenile Courts won't realize the manpower savings until Phase IV, when the state and county systems are integrated. So, we cannot say that $7,013 spent now will result in data -entry reduction equal to XXX -FTE's and YYY dollars. We assume that our apparent immediate need for additional staff will disappear or be diminished. Criminal Justice Information Sharing Plan Background The ad hoc Criminal Justice Working Group, made up of all the county's law and justice offices and the local office of the Department of Corrections, several years ago realized that 75 -80% of all the problems were information- sharing problems, ranging from the accuracy or completeness of data to the timely sharing of data. It was realized.that during the several hours following an arrest, at least six separate databases were created, resulting in duplicate entries of data for about 95% of each database. The duplicate entries are. felt to be a no- longer unaffordable duplication of manpower and a six -fold opportunity for erroneous entries. Phase I Whatcom County /City of Bellingham Acquired an AS /400 The first part of the solution is put into place. The Sheriffs Office, the Jail, the Prosecutor and to a certain extent the Bellingham Police Department maintain separate databases on the County /City -owned Law & Justice AS /400. Beginning several years ago, the separately - designed and maintained databases began permitting access to other users, in a read -only form. Now, the Sheriffs Office and the Bellingham Police Department share the same database. The Prosecutor, Jail and the Sheriffs databases are available to some extent to each other. Phase R State Computer System Opening Up to Entire County The second part of the solution is being made available to all, until it can be connected to the other pieces. In a precedent- setting agreement, the state -owned and maintained Judicial Information System (JIS), containing the official court records for the Superior Court, the District Court, the Juvenile Court and most other courts of limited jurisdiction, has just been connected to Whatcom's' Law & Justice AS /400. By making this data available courthouse -wide, via the in -place state -of -the -art wiring and the existing AS /400 connections, a significant savings in manpower will be realized as all those offices needing case numbers, charging information, etc., can look up the data via read- only access, without having to telephone' a court for the information or submitting a written request for on -line data. This connection was accomplished only several weeks ago and the individual offices are only now coming on line. The Working Group will be submitting a supplemental budget request seeking approximately $7,000 to be able to connect additional AS /400 terminals/PC's in order to get the JIS data into the minimum required workstations. Phase III i Integration of AS /400 Databases Six different pieces are joined into one piece. The first -ever attempt in the state to integrate separate system -wide databases is underway, as the Law & Justice AS /400 offices have begun the exploration and design of an integrated application of all the AS /400 -based files, totally eliminating duplication of entries. The design presumes that the first office to be able to capture and enter the data will be the only office entering the data. Thenceforward, the data will be "captured" .by subsequent users. For instance, rather than the six or so offices each entering the name of a defendant in the several hours following an arrest, the law enforcement agency will .enter it once (or the jail, whichever is first) and each of the remaining five offices will be able to display and use the name (address, charge, social security number, etc.), merely adding that information which is unique to that user's needs. The data integration workshops underway are identifying common, to- be- shared data fields, so that programmers can redesign their display so that many offices may use the same data. The process will also identify which data fields should remain "confidential," to be displayed for a password- protected user. Once the "field library" of to -be- shared - fields and the restricted - access fields are identified, we will begin the .local integration of that data and construct the office- unique screen displays using the same fields that another office will also use, but display in its own format. Phase IV Integration of County /City and State Mainframe Applications All the pieces are; finally joined; the puzzle is virtually complete. The Whatcom data integration still relies on the stand -alone JIS databases. The final stage of the integration master plan is to integrate the then - integrated county system with the state's JIS system, using already -in -place upload/download protocols. This.county /state integration will be ground- breaking. State personnel are looking at Whatcom's plan with intrigue, as we are planning to take the next step in what is the logical evolution of automated information storage, i.e., the sharing of that information. lintegrat.Mfl ti. Information Services (206) 676 -7684 TO: Linda Irvin County Executi 's Office FROM: George Reid Information Se vices Manager DATE: July 21, 1994 SUBJECT: Law Enforcement Working Group Supplemental Budget As requested, the Information Services Committee reviewed the Supplemental Budget request submitted I by the Law Enforcement Working Group and. unanimously recommends approval. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions in this regard. WHATCOM COUNTY TD 7ET MODIFICATION REOUEr Department: Law Library (as part of a Criminal Justice Working Group Request) Requested By: The following budget modification is requested: SOURCE: (Accounts to transfer from or funding source for supplemental) Budget Transfer * Law Library Fund: 111.8301.4530 ................ $ 740.00 FUND TO INCREASE: Law Library Fund: 111.7420 ................... $ 740.00 PURPOSE OF TRANSFER OR SUPPLEMENTAL: (If more room is necessary attach additional sheet.) This request is part of the attached Criminal Justice - Working Group request for additional AS 1400 connections, described in the narrative request attached to this transfer request and a Current Expense Supplemental Budget Request. t Authorized By: Department Head: ate: Executive's Office: ate: Date Posted: By: • Transfers affecting objects 10, 20, or 60 must be authorized by the Canty Executive. Transfers affecting other objects do not need Executive office approval. supplemental requests, if approved by the Executive, will be forwarded to the County Council for authorization. [supp.l &j]