Four probation officers with Snohomish County District Court can keep their jobs for now, after being told last month they would be cut loose.
District Court managers planned to ax the positions to comply with a 2.6 percent across-the-board-cut for most county departments. County councilmen questioned the wisdom of letting go employees who support a program that pays for itself and helps keep the community safe.
“The key issue may have been a misunderstanding,” Council Chairman Dave Gossett said. “District Court was looking to reduce expenditures. County Council was looking to eliminate the gap between revenues and expenditures.”
The layoff notices were rescinded at the end of April. Now, staff from the County Council and the District Court are studying other cost-cutting options.
County leaders have agreed that across-the-board cuts are a poor way to manage the county’s roughly $200 million operating budget, about three-quarters of which goes to the criminal justice system. They have promised to seek more targeted changes for next year.
District courts handle traffic infractions; lower-level criminal cases such as drunken driving; and civil actions, including small claims and protection orders. The courts are in Arlington, Everett, Lynnwood and Monroe.
District Court probation officers are in charge of actively monitoring 5,000 offenders. An additional 12,000 offenders undergo periodic record checks. An offender on supervised probation is charged about $50 per month and an offender on unsupervised probation pays about $100 per year.
Last year, District Court probation programs brought in $1.4 million in fees, director Paulette Revoir said. That was about $45,000 more than the programs cost to run. The surplus went into the county’s general fund.
Until February, there were nine probation officers to cover the four locations. Then one officer retired.
The proposed staffing cuts would have left one probation officer at each branch and doubled case loads. Two legal process assistants who support the officers also received layoff notices last month. Those notices have been rescinded as well.
“We’re going to investigate what savings can be achieved through changes in procedures,” said presiding District Court Judge Jeffrey Goodwin.
It isn’t clear whether laying off other District Court employees will be among those changes.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
