Drafter
Clerk 09/24/2025
Title
AN ORDINANCE relating to appearance fees for personnel of the King County sheriff's office subpoenaed to appear in civil cases; and adding a new section to K.C.C chapter 4A.680.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings:
A. The King County council finds that when sheriff's office personnel are subpoenaed to testify in a civil lawsuit, the County must sometimes compensate additional personnel to cover the shift of a subpoenaed employee.
B. Under RCW 36.18.40(2), fees imposed by the sheriff may be recovered by the prevailing party in private litigation, which would include any fees imposed to cover the cost of administration and operation of the sheriff's office.
C. The collective bargaining agreement with sheriff's deputies requires that the deputy called out to cover the shift of another employee be paid a minimum of four hours of contractual overtime pay.
SECTION 2. A. This ordinance imposes a fee to cover the cost of appearance by sheriff's office personnel, when subpoenaed to appear in civil lawsuit and such appearance results in additional expenditures by the sheriff's office.
B. These fees are assessed under RCW 36.18.040(3), which provides County legislative bodies with the authority to set the amounts of the fees needed to cover the costs of administration and operation. Fees imposed by the sheriff's office under RCW 36.18.040(3) may be recovered by the prevailing party in private litigation under RCW 36.18.040(2).
NEW SECTION. SECTION 3. There is hereby added to K.C.C. chapter 4A.680 a new section to read as follows:
The following fees shall be charged by the sheriff's office to any civil litigant who subpoenas personnel from the sheriff's office to appear for deposition or trial in a civil lawsuit, whenever the sheriff's office must compensate another employee to backfill the assignment of the subpoenaed employee:
An amount equal to the compensation paid to personnel needed...

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