Grant County District Court judges ask for third judge

EPHRATA — The Grant County District Court judges are asking commissioners to approve hiring a third judge.

EPHRATA - The Grant County District Court judges are asking commissioners to approve hiring a third judge.

The request came from judges Janis Whitener-Moberg and Richard Fitterer at a meeting Monday. In a letter submitted to the commissioners, the judges stated the issue became apparent at a recent administrative meeting.

"Our administrator wisely pointed out that the reason we rarely meet is that the judges are always in court," according to the letter. "All three judicial officers are working at 120 percent of capacity as are staff and administration. Any breakdown will be catastrophic."

The judges offered three possible funding sources for the position. The first is through the state trial court improvement account. The account is funded with a portion of a $43 penalty on district court criminal judgments, and is expected to receive about $46,000 this year.

"The original intent was similar to the state paying half of (the superior court judges') salaries, ... the idea was to pay for half of the district court judges' salaries," Fitterer said.

Commissioner Richard Stevens asked if they had brought the proposal to the committee controlling the fund, saying there has been a request to add equipment to help the hearing-impaired.

"We have an individual that keeps coming by and says we haven't got any available," he said. "Eventually, it's going to lead to a civil suit."

Fitterer asked if federal funding existed to pay for improvements related to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Stevens replied he doesn't know if there is, saying in the past they've used the real estate excise tax fund to pay for improvements before, but with paying for improvements at the fairgrounds and a decline in the economy, they can't rely on the revenue.

The second suggestion for money was to use a portion of a proposed 0.1 percent tax aimed at funding new or expanded programs for mental health or chemical dependency treatment programs and therapeutic court programs.

The Grant County Human Service Coalition, a group supporting the tax, pledged to use $168,000 to pay for the position.

"Grant County Jail is the largest mental health facility in the county," Fitterer said.

The third suggestion was to use a portion of the $450,000, which the district court puts into the county's general fund.

Stevens said the money would still end up coming out of the general fund.

Commissioner Cindy Carter said the commissioners plan on discussing the proposal on Monday and will need to examine the budget.

"We understand the need, but we need to have the money," she said.