Pierce County Council approves jail rate increases, fee changes and fund consolidations in special meeting

The Pierce County Council on Nov. 14 adopted a package of ordinances that included higher jail incarceration rates, updated internal equipment rental rates, increases to certain superior court filing fees and several fund reorganizations.

Council members voted unanimously to adopt ordinance O2025-541, which updates jail incarceration rates used by the Pierce County Sheriff’s Corrections Bureau for services provided to other jurisdictions. Andrea Kelly, council staff, said the rates are reviewed each biennium and are set to recoup costs; the finance department recommended approval. Kelly said the fiscal impact of the increase is approximately $363,000 for 2026 and about $471,000 for 2027. Vice Chair Herrera moved the ordinance; the council adopted it by roll call, 7 ayes, 0 nays.

The council also approved O2025-548 to adopt equipment rental and revolving (ER&R) rates for calendar years 2026 and 2027. Erica Rhett Hunt, council staff, said the ER&R fund is an internal services fund used to purchase, maintain and repair vehicles and equipment and that rates are set by the county engineer and the director of planning and public works. Council members asked whether non-county entities could rent county equipment; staff said interlocal agreements and insurance are required in most cases and that some interlocal agreements already exist. The ordinance passed unanimously.

On ordinance O2025-551, the council amended Pierce County Code section 4.58.060 to increase superior court clerk fees for non-statutory services and to align local fees with statutory maximums for civil arbitration and trial de novo. Andrea Kelly said the clerk’s office reported an average of 630 arbitration filings and 56 trial de novo filings annually (data from 2020–2024). Kelly noted the current filing fee for civil arbitration is $220 and would increase to $250; the fee for trial de novo would increase from $250 to $400. Executive counsel Julie Murray explained that trial de novo is a judicial review after arbitration and that the statute-authorized higher fee is intended, in part, to discourage duplicative filings. Council members expressed concern about the burden on litigants; the ordinance passed 7–0.

Council members adopted O2025-564S to revise and abolish certain special revenue funds and to amend language for other funds. Staff said five funds would be eliminated (including the Behavioral Health Partnership Fund and several tourism/visitor funds) and that remaining balances would transfer to the general fund. The Behavioral Health Partnership Fund was reported to have an estimated balance of $430,000; staff indicated the 2026–27 budget proposes transferring that amount to the general fund. The ordinance also modifies the Taxpayer Accountability Fund (PASTA) to require at least $100,000 annually for workforce development. The council approved the ordinance by roll call, 7 ayes, 0 nays.

Finally, O2025-565 codified the Parks Construction Fund as the Parks and Trails Construction Fund, directed the finance director to abolish the Paths and Trails Construction Fund and to transfer its balance, and clarified that specific revenue sources (for example MVET revenues designated for trails) will continue to be tracked and moved into project payout accounts when eligible. Parks Director Travis Buell said the change is primarily an accounting consolidation intended to improve efficiencies in project delivery. The ordinance passed unanimously.

The council adopted the consent agenda at the start of the meeting, which included five board and commission appointment resolutions and seven final settlement agreements. Clerk roll calls recorded all votes as ayes where indicated. All ordinances listed above were approved with recorded roll-call votes of 7 ayes and 0 nays.

Next steps: several ordinance items noted dependencies on the 2026–27 budget and continued implementation by county departments; the council’s schedule shows O2025-571 (a separate code-enforcement ordinance) remains scheduled for final action on Dec. 9, 2025.