04-16-1996 (City Council) Agenda Packet AGENDA
WYLIE CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL CALLED MEETING
Wylie Municipal Complex
April 16, 1996
7:00 p.m.
CALL TO ORDER
INVOCATION
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ACTION ITEM
1. Discuss and Consider Approval of the Law Firm of Abernathy, Roeder, Robertson &
Joplin to Represent City of Wylie in the Lawsuit, City of Parker v. City of Wylie
EXECUTIVE SESSION
2. Hold Executive Session Under Section 551.071 Government Code - Consultation with
Attorney Regarding Pending Litigation, City of Parker v. City of Wylie
3. Reconvene Into Open Meeting and Take Any Necessary Action as a Result of the
Executive Session
STAFF REPORTS
CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
WORKSESSION
4. Discuss Municipal Court Operations and Court Docket Update by Judge Suzanne Marsh
5. Discuss Service Center, Project Update and Budget Status
6. Discuss Goals and Plans for the Future of the City of Wylie
ADJOURNMENT
2'164 .j/e-/:(."(-
Posted on this th 1 12th day of April, 1996 at 5:00 p.m.
THE WYLIE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX IS WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. SIGN INTERPRETATION OR OTHER
SPECIAL ASSISTANCE FOR DISABLED ATTENDEES MUST BE REQUESTED 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE BY
CONTACTING THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 442-8100 OR TDD 442-8170
ARRJ Fax:214-562-0202 Apr 9 '96 15:13 P.02
Law Offices of
ABERNATHY,ROEDER,ROBERTSON&JOPLIN
J.E Ab.Ynalby A Professional Corporation 2145542 2661
Richard M Abum1h ° 101 East Davis Street Dallas 562-9003
Larry R.Boyd P.O.Box 1210 E fp_ LE y PAX
Joe M.Joplin' McKinney,Texas 75069- • LED 2141362-0202
Rick Robertson* APR 1 0 Robert H.Roeder' 1996
D.Kay woods
Rebecca IL Brewer
°Board Certified-Family Law By Board Certified-Civil Trial Law
Tema Board of Legal Specialization ms Board of Legal Specialization
'Qualified Mediator
April 9, 1996
Mr. Mike Collins BY FAX 442-4302
city Manager •
P.O. Box 428
Wylie, Texas 75098
RE: Cause No. 219-458-96; City of Parker, Texas v. City of
Wylie, Texas; in the 219th Judicial District Court of
Collin County, Texas
Dear Mike:
I recommend the City Council of the City of Wylie, Texas
place on the next City Council Agenda the hiring of this law firm
to defend the City of Wylie, Texas in the above-referenced cause
of action.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Very tr y yours,
•/(
Richard M. Abernathy
RMA/hj
1: \mbox4\wylie\parker\defend.ltr
Issue
This item is for informational purposes only.
Background
Municipal Court Judge Suzanne Marsh will appear before the City Council at its
April 16 worksession to discuss issues relating to Municipal Court operations. Judge
Marsh will provide descriptions of several court functions including pre-trials, trials,
arraignments, etc.
The City Council has asked that a specific issue regarding the backlog of trial cases
be addressed by Judge Marsh and city staff. Currently, the court clerks are scheduling
trials into the month of November. The number of requests for trials has escalated in the
past two years. The exact cause is not clear. One possible cause is that attorneys are
aggressively advertising for clients with traffic or misdemeanor violations giving rise to an
increase in requests. Another contributing factor is the Wylie court's scheduling
procedure. Currently, defendants are given a specific date and time for their trial. In most
municipal courts, the defendants are given a specific trial date; but all defendants
scheduled on that date are instructed to report at the same time. This allows the court to
move directly from one case to the next without delays between.
In order to alleviate or reduce the backlog, we are proposing one of two options.
(1) add an additional trial day per month or.(2) extend the current trial day. Currently our
trials start at noon and continue until we have completed the docket. Option 2 is to start
trials at 9:30 AM, break for lunch at noon, reconvene at 1:00 and continue until the docket
has been completed. We will be able to increase our docket from 6-10 cases per month
to 20-25 cases. Both options assume scheduling all defendants at the same time to
eliminate blank periods between cases. Recent changes in scheduling pre-trials are also
expected to reduce the number of requests for trials.
Legal Consideration
N/A
Financial Consideration
This item is not budgeted in FY96. The City Council will be presented with a
proposal during the mid-year budget review on April 23rd to approve additional funding for
Municipal Court.
Costs related to option 1 are estimated to average $850 per month for the prosecuting
attorney ($100 per hour) and $150.00 for Judge Marsh. Option 2 costs are estimated at
$650 per month for the prosecutor and $150 per month for Judge Marsh. The estimated
additional cost not to exceed $5000 for remainder of the budget year. Annual court
revenue for FY "96 is projected to be $186,400; total department expenditures $83,530.
Board/Commission Recommendation
N/A
Staff Recommendation
N/A
Attachments
None
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Prepared by Approval City Manager Approval