Agenda Date: 12/16/2014
Subject:
Title
Ordinance on second reading regarding judges and court administrator compensation
Body
Presented By: |
Kristin Schledorn, Deputy City Attorney |
POLICY QUESTION:
Does the city council support amending the city code to set the compensation of the judges through either resolution or separate agreement at the time of appointment?
BACKGROUND:
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-10-101 et seq. requires that council set the compensation of the judge, substitute judges and municipal court administrator by ordinance. The attached ordinance amends city code section 1-6-7, and adds a new city code section (1-6-20), to address these statutory requirements.
STAFF ANALYSIS:
The proposed ordinance provides that the judges' compensation will be set by ordinance in accordance with the statutory requirements of C.R.S. § 13-10-107. The amount of compensation can be specified by council resolution at the time of appointment or pursuant to a separate agreement, approved by council at the time of appointment. City council's practice has been to establish the judges' compensation through a separate professional services agreement at the time of appointment. The adoption of this ordinance does not change the status of the judges as independent contractors, as explicitly stated in subsection 1-6-20(C).
FISCAL IMPACTS:
None. The code amendment provides that the judges' compensation may be set by resolution or separate agreement at time of appointment. The court administrator's compensation shall be set by the city manager, in consultation with the presiding judge. The judges' and court administrator's compensation will remain within the budgeted amount approved by council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the ordinance.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to approve on second reading the ordinance regarding judges and court administrator compensation.