City Council puts Olympia Municipal Court on the docket

Olympia Municipal Court may soon no longer exist, as plans come together for Thurston County District Court to take over its work. Budgetary issues and an old building appear to be the cause for the change, but Municipal Court staff are worried about their jobs and what will happen to the offenders the court is serving.  

 On April 11, Olympia Municipal Court Judge Pam Nogueira delivered a “Report of the Court,” where she presented data about her court and explained the situation. Other Olympia Municipal Court staff also spoke, as well as judges and staff from similar courts around the state, explaining the specific services that type of court offers and why it’s valuable. 

 “Long term, there’s way more benefits of your municipal court rather than closing and operating under the district,” Nogueira said. She is somewhat new to the position having started about 18 months ago — or roughly the same time negotiations ramped up surrounding the Lee Creighton Justice Center where the court is housed. 

 On Tuesday, April 22, the Olympia City Council could approve a resolution that would direct city staff to negotiate an interlocal agreement with Thurston County to provide judicial, jail alternatives and supervised probation services. The agreement would effectively mark the end of the line for the Municipal Court. The City Council meets at City Hall at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The proposed resolution comes on the heels of the $8.2 million sale of the Lee Creighton Justice Center to the Squaxin Tribe, which apparently has plans to turn the property into a hotel and conference center. The city council approved the sale on April 8 amid a backdrop of a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall.

The building was constructed in 1966, and was used as City Hall for years. In 2011, renovations began to transform it to offer court services, but a recent building condition assessment showed the justice center needed $12 million in repairs, and it was recommended to instead create a new facility. 

Master plan work showed it would cost around $90 million for a new facility, which wasn’t feasible with the budget, said Jay Burney, Olympia City Manager. When the tribe approached the city about buying the property some of the decision-making about the future use of the site sped up, he said.  

 The property also houses the Yashiro Japanese Garden, evidence storage for Olympia Police Department (OPD) and the Plum Street tiny home village. Burney said part of the agreement with the tribe is to have 18 months to figure out what to do with relocating these services, which will come from the cost of the sale. 

The parks department plans to find a new location for the Japanese garden, and staff is working toward finding other housing solutions for people living in the tiny house village. Part of the proceeds from the sale will go toward more storage for the Olympia Police Department (OPD), as well as building out new office space for public defenders and prosecutors.  

 “This conversation is a really hard one, because this is not about us, whether we value our court. We do value our court, and I'm proud of the history of our court, I'm proud of all the people that they've served,” Burney said. “But unfortunately, we're at a dollars and cents conversation and a really different budget conversation.” 

 Burney said staff is looking at three options for the court itself, though the most viable is to negotiate a partnership with the county which would cost roughly the same as what is spent on the current court system. 

Other options include leasing a new space somewhere else, which would cost $7 million to get started plus an $850,000 per year lease. Another option would be to host the court in existing facilities, but that also came with a high cost and Burney said sharing a space and moving staff around isn’t a long-term solution.  

 One of the driving factors for keeping the Municipal Court is all of the services it provides, which have proven successful. At the Report of the Court, Nogueira spoke about what each department does and how her staff contributes to a successful court. 

Court services does things like scheduling, summoning jurors and customer service. Community supervision gives pretrial and post-conviction supervision, alcohol and drug testing, electronic home monitoring, therapies, DUI victims panels, and provides jail alternatives like work crew or community service.  

 In her presentation she gave data of money saved and successes. She said $823,517.50 was saved in using jail alternatives, in addition to the $69,006 saved from the work the offenders did through jail alternative programs like work crew.  

 Community court helps to reduce crime and homelessness, and promote safety, Nogueira said. Twenty-one people opted in for community court in 2024, with 19 graduations and 6 revocations. She and other people are worried about the community court program ceasing to exist, since it pairs people with services directly and is specific to the population of Olympia.  

 Nogueira expressed frustration with transparency, stating that many of her attempts at contact with people in the decision-making process have gone nowhere. She was hoping her Report of the Court event would be shared by the city so people knew about the event, but it was met with nonresponse. 

She believes it’s important for residents who utilize the court to have a say, or at least more understanding of the situation. Nogueira herself had heard a rumor that the court could be going to the County, but got no official notice of it until Oct. 31, 2024. 

When she was appointed to the position, discussions were already being had with the tribe, she said, but no one warned her that her court closing could be a possibility.  

 “We have one boss — that’s you,” she said to the people attending her event. “This court is not mine, it’s not theirs, it’s yours.” 

 Nogueira said the decision doesn’t consider the value of long-term benefits, and that municipal courts serve a different community than a county court does.  

 “It's just unfortunate because it's an amazing court with amazing programs and outstanding staff. It would truly be a shame to lose all that to the community,” Nogueira said.  

 In the proposal from Thurston County to the City of Olympia, it is estimated that $2,702,000 would be the cost for 2026 and $2,766,000 for 2027. These expenses include 14 court employees plus two support staff. The current budget for Olympia Municipal Court for 2025 is $2,547,282. Nogueira said they currently utilize the city’s human resources department and have 15 staff members, and that the transfer does not include the whole community court.  

 Burney said Thurston County has mental health services, veterans court and probation services, and the district court is willing to expand services closer to what the municipal court offers.  

 “We’re looking at long term budget sustainability, that’s a key component here,” Burney said. “The county does not offer the same exact community court offerings we offer but do have alternative programs.” 

 He said people using community court services at Olympia Municipal Court would be able to be transferred into the programs Thurston County offers, but there will be six months to work out the fine details of the interlocal agreement. 

Burney also said they’re not giving up all local control. 

 “We are keeping prosecution and public defense, and our victims assistance program here at the city, and our prosecutors have a relationship with OPD. They have a connection to our reimagining public safety, and at the end of the day, it's OPD and prosecution working together to consider charging decisions and whether people qualify for alternative programs,” Burney said. “Our public defenders are well connected to our community and our community values, and the need for use of alternative programs.” 

 Burney said he wants to recognize the amazing staff at Olympia Municipal Court, and will prioritize them through this transition. Staff is union-represented, so negotiations about new positions or severance packages will be done through the union.  

 “This is not where any of us want to be, but it's a conversation that we have to have,” said Burney, reiterating that it’s a budget decision.  

 Burney said he’s thankful for Thurston County being open to discussions, and that they already have a similar interlocal agreement with Lacey and Tumwater.  

 “They care about the same things we care about in looking at jail alternatives and adjusting the system that serves everyone that enters it fairly and equitably. And if we didn't feel that way, we wouldn't be this far along with the county,” Burney said.