The Sparks Municipal Court salary for judges is regulated by Municipal Code Chapter 2.04, section 2.040.20.  The current municipal code calculates the salary of the judges by averaging the City’s department head salaries (excluding the highest and lowest) in July of each year.   Cost of living adjustments (COLA’s) are not directly given to the municipal judges.  However, when COLA’s are given, they are added to the base salary of department heads.  The base salary of department heads is in turn used for the averaging method described above to calculate the salary of municipal judges.  If for some reason the average of the salaries of the department heads is lower than the previous year, the salary of the judges may not be decreased.  In the next section of the Municipal Code 2.040.030 Salary of City Attorney, the municipal code states that the City Attorney shall be paid a fixed amount $5,000 more than the salary for a municipal judge.

Section 2.04.020 has not been reviewed or amended since May of 2002.  Several conditions have changed in the following seventeen years.  First in 2002,  the Sparks Municipal Court judge positions did not require a law degree, but now the judges must have a law degree.  Second, in 2013, the US Supreme Court decided that a search warrant is typically required to draw blood from a suspect in a DUI case unless the suspect gives consent. In order to continue to prosecute DUI offenders who do not consent to chemical testing, judges must be available to issue search warrants for this purpose.  Therefore, municipal court judges must be available to issue warrants twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. This work is split between the two judges and represents tremendous interruption during hours the Court is closed.

Due to these changed conditions, Staff recommends adopting a bill to amend the Municipal Code to have one calculation including the $5,000 for both the City Attorney and the Municipal Court Judges.  This will result in a $5,000 increase in pay for each of the two judges.

Adoption of Bill No.2760 will amend, by ordinance, Sparks Municipal Code 2.04.020, Salary of Municipal Judge and Sparks Municipal Code 2.040.030 Salary of the City Attorney in the following manner:

SMC 2.04.020 Salary of Municipal Court Judges and City Attorney

The salary of the municipal judges and the city attorney shall be adjusted with the first full pay period following July 1 of each succeeding year. The salary of all municipal judges and the city attorney shall be equal and $5000.00 more than the shall be set by average of the base salaries of the appointed department heads (excluding the highest and lowest salaries) on the first full pay period following July 1 of each year and thereafter adjusted for any cost of living increases afforded to the appointed department heads during that fiscal year. In the event the average is lower than the previous year, the salary of municipal judges and city attorney shall not be decreased. For purposes of this section, the city manager shall not be a department head.

(Ord. 1726, 1992: Ord. 1679, 1990: Ord. 1621 § 2, 1988: Ord. 1567 § 2, 1986: Ord. 1379 § 1, 1982: Ord. 1206 § 1, 1978.) (Ord. 2141, Amended, 05/13/2002; 1947, Amended, 10/27/1997)

• Section 2.04.030 - Salary of city attorney and municipal court judges.

The salary of the elected city attorney shall be fixed at an amount $5,000.00 more than the salary for a municipal judge.

(Ord. 1914, 1996: Ord. 1679, 1990: Ord. 1621 § 3, 1988: Ord. 1567 § 3, 1986: Ord. 1377 § 1, 1982: Ord. 1204 § 1, 1978.) (Ord. 2175, Amended, 07/14/2003; 1966, Amended, 12/08/1997)

First Reading

This is a First Reading only; no motion is required.