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Record of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Study Session - April 9, 2024: Therapeutic Courts, Fire Levy, Litter Code

City Council Study Session — Tuesday, April 9, 2024
BodyTacoma, Washington
SessionCity Council Study Session
DateTuesday, April 9, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting study session of April 9th, 2024.

0:10

Clerk, will you please call the roll?

0:12

Councilmember Bushnell.

0:14

Present.

0:14

Councilmember Daniels.

0:15

Here.

0:16

Councilmember Diaz.

0:17

Here.

0:17

Deputy Mayor Hines.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Councilmember Rumba.

0:20

Here.

0:20

Councilmember Scott.

0:22

Councilmember Eshka.

0:25

Absent.

0:26

Councilmember Walker, absent.

0:28

Mayor Woodards.

0:30

Here.

0:30

Mayor and Council members, the study session material was sent to you at 11.

0:36

All right.

0:36

Our first agenda item is to call municipal therapeutic courts.

0:41

And to begin the presentation, I'd like to call on Judge True Hankey.

0:46

Come on forward.

0:47

Good to see you.

0:49

Good afternoon.

0:51

Oh, the you you brought your phone a friend to the table with you.

0:54

That's great.

0:56

Good to see you, Dee.

1:02

I should have said Judge Sondtag.

1:29

Thank you.

1:30

Good afternoon, uh, Deputy Woodards, uh, Deputy Mayor Heinz and all the council members.

1:37

We're so excited to be here today to talk to you about our therapeutic courts and Tacoma Municipal Court.

1:47

All right, next slide.

1:50

So our agenda for today is to just introduce our team again, and to you to some of you who have seen us before, but I know some people are new, so we're excited to extend our information to everyone.

2:05

Uh and then we're going to explain what therapeutic courts are and just give you a quick overview of our mental health court and then also our community court, and then have some time for questions, which I'm sure you'll you'll have.

2:20

So, first of all, um again, my name is Garu Henke.

2:23

I'm the presiding judge for Tacoma Municipal Court.

2:26

I was elected in 2015 and have been the presiding judge, I think, since 2020.

2:33

Um, and since 2019, I have run the uh mental health court.

2:40

It's now a formal therapeutic court, which we started last June.

2:44

But be prior to that, we had uh two different dockets.

2:48

One was to deal with um the cases where there's issues of competency.

2:53

That was our nine o'clock docket, and then in their 1030 docket, we developed because we realized there were people who were in need of more services than just a regular on a regular docket, and that is the docket that we have now formed into our um mental health therapeutic docket.

3:13

Yes, and hello.

3:14

Uh there we are.

3:17

Good afternoon.

3:18

Um, my name is Dee Sontag.

3:20

I am the judge for Department One, and I have the honor and privilege of presiding over our community court.

3:26

I was elected in November of 2022.

3:29

Prior to that, I my therapeutic court experience included working in our Pierce County drug court program where I really learned the ins and outs and best practices of the therapeutic model.

3:40

So last year was really excited to join our already very hardworking team and presiding judge and working to develop um our mental health court program and our community court program.

3:51

And we'll um we've got part of our team here, and I'll uh um introduce you to them in just a minute, but I do want to talk generally about what therapeutic courts are.

4:01

Um there are courts that are developed to have a unique approach to target the root causes of criminal behavior, and um there are many of them throughout the state, and luckily we've gotten a lot of um support from not only those courts but also the state legislature to develop our court that we have now.

4:22

Um the uh aim again is to reduce criminal behavior, but by by connecting participants with treatment services and community resources so that um they can by the time they leave our court be able to stand on their own, be independent, and if they need resources in the future, they'll know where to go to get them.

4:45

We all know that a recovery is not a straight line, and so part of our objective is to not only help people get to those resources but have them be familiar with them, be involved in them so that in the future, if they do need uh additional support that they know where to get it in the community.

5:06

Our courts are designed to be welcoming, approachable, and supportive.

5:10

Uh, and so it's not just the judge and the defense attorney and the prosecutor, but there's a whole team of people who are uh whose goal is to make this person uh be able to stand on their own and be a productive member of our community.

5:26

One other aspect of our therapeutic courts, which I think is really important, is that these uh programs are voluntary, so we don't have we're not trying to force feed people to they have to get treatment.

5:38

These are the people who want to get treatment, understand that the way to a better life is through treatment and support through our programs.

5:51

Next slide.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Court Support Services█████████████████████21%
Public Finance████████████████████20%
Procedural███████████████15%
Mental Health Awareness██████████████14%
Public Safety█████████████13%
Fire Department Operations████████8%
Code Enforcement█████5%
Public Engagement██2%
Housing█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Tacoma City Council Study Session - April 9, 2024

The Tacoma City Council held a study session on April 9, 2024, at 12:00 PM. The session included briefings on the Tacoma Municipal Therapeutic Courts and a proposed fire department levy for the November 2024 general election, along with a council consideration request to revise littering and illegal dumping penalties. Council members discussed the programs, asked questions, and provided feedback. No formal votes were taken, but staff received direction to continue developing the proposals.

Briefing Item 1: Tacoma Municipal Therapeutic Courts

Judges Drew Henke and Dee Sonntag presented an overview of the city's mental health court and community court programs. Key details include:

  • Mental Health Court: Launched in June 2023, serves individuals with serious mental health diagnoses. To date, 13 referrals, 5 active participants, no graduations yet (first expected June 2024). Program is 12 months with stipulations (medication compliance, abstinence from substances, etc.).
  • Community Court: Soft-launched in October 2023, for broader needs (substance use, mild mental health, housing instability). 33 referrals, 12 entered, 5 graduated, 7 current participants. Programs are 3, 6, or 9 months.
  • Both courts are voluntary, incentive-based, and use a team approach including case managers, peer support, and treatment providers. Cases are dismissed upon successful completion, except restitution owed to victims.
  • Council members asked about eligibility, prosecutor gatekeeping, data tracking, housing barriers, and capacity. City council requested future presentations include data from the prosecutor's office on how many cases are eligible.

Briefing Item 2: Tacoma Fire Department November 2024 General Election Ballot Item

City Budget Officer Katie Johnston, Fire Chief Toryono Green, and City Manager Elizabeth Pauli presented a proposal for a property tax levy lid lift to fund fire facilities, fleet, and equipment. Key details:

  • Proposal: A permanent levy of $0.65 per $1,000 of assessed value, generating $30 million annually. For an average home ($450,000), cost ~$25/month.
  • Uses: $160 million in facility investments over 20 years, re-establish fleet replacement fund (currently none), equipment replacement fund (SCBAs, extrication tools, etc.), and relieve $20 million from general fund in first biennium.
  • Need: 85% of fire facilities rated poor/critical, average station age 69 years, 60% of fleet beyond useful life, 7 of 16 engines exceeded target 2,500 calls/year (Engine 1 ran 4,900 calls in 2023).
  • EMS Levy Context: The 2023 EMS levy lid lift (67% approval) funds BLS transport and first response units. Staffing challenges delayed deployment, but plans remain to add units through 2026.
  • Council members expressed strong support for the levy, questioned timing, transparency, and communication with the public. Staff will conduct community engagement and return in June/July for ballot language.

Other Items of Interest: Littering and Illegal Dumping Penalty Revisions

Deputy Mayor Hines introduced a council consideration request to revise Tacoma Municipal Code 8.12.150. Currently, all littering carries a $50 fine as a criminal misdemeanor. Proposed changes would create a tiered penalty structure based on volume and recognize dangerous litter (e.g., nails vs. flammable materials). The goal is to align with state law and reflect the seriousness of illegal dumping, especially with the new Tidy Up Tacoma program funding cleanup. Further legal analysis is needed due to recent state code changes. Councilmember Rumba announced a companion resolution on public education and civic participation to be brought forward.

Key Outcomes

  • Therapeutic Courts: No formal action; staff will work with prosecutor's office for future data presentations.
  • Fire Levy: Council supportive; staff to develop community engagement plan and return with ballot language in June/July.
  • Litter Code: Deputy Mayor Hines will refine the proposal after legal review; Councilmember Rumba will introduce an education resolution alongside the ordinance vote.
  • Executive Session: Council convened a 10-minute executive session on pending litigation.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call to order the city council meeting study session of April 9th, 2024. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Councilmember Bushnell. Present. Councilmember Daniels. Here. Councilmember Diaz. Here. Deputy Mayor Hines. Here. Councilmember Rumba. Here. Councilmember Scott. Councilmember Eshka. Absent. Councilmember Walker, absent. Mayor Woodards. Here. Mayor and Council members, the study session material was sent to you at 11. All right. Our first agenda item is to call municipal therapeutic courts. And to begin the presentation, I'd like to call on Judge True Hankey. Come on forward. Good to see you. Good afternoon. Oh, the you you brought your phone a friend to the table with you. That's great. Good to see you, Dee. I should have said Judge Sondtag. Thank you. Good afternoon, uh, Deputy Woodards, uh, Deputy Mayor Heinz and all the council members. We're so excited to be here today to talk to you about our therapeutic courts and Tacoma Municipal Court. All right, next slide. So our agenda for today is to just introduce our team again, and to you to some of you who have seen us before, but I know some people are new, so we're excited to extend our information to everyone. Uh and then we're going to explain what therapeutic courts are and just give you a quick overview of our mental health court and then also our community court, and then have some time for questions, which I'm sure you'll you'll have. So, first of all, um again, my name is Garu Henke. I'm the presiding judge for Tacoma Municipal Court. I was elected in 2015 and have been the presiding judge, I think, since 2020. Um, and since 2019, I have run the uh mental health court. It's now a formal therapeutic court, which we started last June. But be prior to that, we had uh two different dockets. One was to deal with um the cases where there's issues of competency. That was our nine o'clock docket, and then in their 1030 docket, we developed because we realized there were people who were in need of more services than just a regular on a regular docket, and that is the docket that we have now formed into our um mental health therapeutic docket. Yes, and hello. Uh there we are. Good afternoon. Um, my name is Dee Sontag. I am the judge for Department One, and I have the honor and privilege of presiding over our community court. I was elected in November of 2022. Prior to that, I my therapeutic court experience included working in our Pierce County drug court program where I really learned the ins and outs and best practices of the therapeutic model.

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