Agenda Date: 04/04/2017
Subject:
Title
Motion to appoint Benjamin Currier and Steven Katzman as substitute municipal court judges for two-year terms and to provide compensation adjustments based on their 2017 performance evaluations
Body
|
Presented By: |
Wendy Heffner, City Clerk |
POLICY QUESTION:
Does city council support appointing Benjamin Currier and Steven Katzman as substitute municipal court judges for additional two-year terms with a compensation increase based on high performance ratings?
BACKGROUND:
Judge Feldman was reappointed as the presiding municipal court judge on February 1, 2017. Pursuant to Section 58 of the Littleton City Charter, city council, in its discretion, may appoint additional judges. The court currently operates with four substitute judges, Benjamin Currier, Christopher Cross, Nancy Hopf and Steven Katzman. Benjamin Currier and Steven Katzman are recommended by Judge Feldman to be retained for additional two-year terms.
Section 1-6-20 of the Littleton City Code provides that compensation for substitute judges shall be based on number of court sessions. Judge Feldman is recommending the following compensation:
|
SESSION |
AMOUNT |
|
Court session (morning and afternoon to be considered separate sessions) |
$270 (and if afternoon session exceeds 3 hours due to jury trial, $90 for each additional hour) |
|
Scheduled on-call session for video arraignment (compensated regardless of whether arraignments are needed) |
$90 (and $90 for each additional hour) |
|
Scheduled on-call session for probable cause review (compensated regardless of whether reviews are needed) |
$90 for each scheduled session (and $90 for each additional hour) |
|
Judicial team meetings |
$180 |
|
General administrative session, as directed by presiding judge |
$90 (and $90 for each additional hour) |
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Judge Feldman recommends appointment of Benjamin Currier and Steven Katzman for additional two-year terms and an increase in compensation as outlined above.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
The proposed compensation structure is based on number of sessions. It is, however, roughly equivalent to a $10 per hour increase.
PROPOSED MOTION:
Proposed Motion
I move to appoint Benjamin Currier and Steven Katzman as substitute municipal court judges for additional two-year terms, effective April 30, 2017. The city attorney is hereby directed to prepare, and the mayor is authorized to execute, two-year contracts with Judge Currier and Judge Katzman.