Clallam County commissioners turned down a District Court judge’s request for another clerk Monday, preferring to wait until voters decide on a proposed sales tax increase for law and justice.
Meanwhile, a Superior Court official reminded commissioners that judges had ordered the county to fund judicial expenditures in the past, raising the possibility that they could order such funding again.
The actions were the latest in what Commissioner Steve Tharinger called “a chess match” between judges who say they and their staffs are overworked and cash-strapped commissioners faced with cutting employees in other county departments next year.
On Monday, District 1 Court Judge Rick Porter and Court Administrator Keith Wills asked the county for a $40,000-per-year clerk. They cited a caseload that jumped from 8,705 in 2001 to 14,369 in 2006.
The court is expected to add $93,000 in revenue this year, said County Administrator Jim Jones, to the roughly $750,000 it already produces annually for the county general fund.
But Commissioner Mike Doherty, D-Port Angeles, asked if personnel from District 2 Court in Forks could help shoulder the increased load.
