Village judges ask for staff pay boost as caseloads and interpreter costs rise

Judge Christie Derrico, one of the two judges serving the Village of Mamaroneck, told the Board of Trustees on March 25 that the village justice court is operating at near capacity as caseloads climb and costs for court services rise.

Derrico said the court is fully staffed for the first time in her tenure with five full-time staff and a new full-time bilingual member. She described the court schedule — Tuesdays for civil and small-claims matters, Thursdays for criminal matters — and said that on many days 10 to 50 percent of court visitors speak Spanish, creating increased demand for interpreter services.

"We have a new full time bilingual staff member. That's a really important thing that we've needed in our community," Derrico said, adding the court still faces pressures from evolving law and administrative expectations.

The judge walked trustees through multi-year case totals, saying total cases rose from roughly 7,300 in calendar year 2023 to about 9,626 in 2024. That trend, she said, places additional time and paperwork burdens on staff and increases operating expenses.

Derrico said the court relies on grants from the Justice Court Assistance Program (JCAP) and the Office of Court Administration to pay for furniture and computers, and that operational modernization — including online payment via Encore and a plea-by-mail option started during COVID — has reduced foot traffic but left ongoing staffing needs.

On staffing costs, Derrico said the court has struggled to recruit stenographers and that market pressure at county courts has driven fees and wages up. "We strongly support our staff," she said, and asked the trustees to consider a 5% increase in pay to improve retention.

Derrico also flagged a possible future capital request for security upgrades, including bulletproof glass. "What was it? $7,080,000 dollars to do that," she said, presenting a high-level estimate and asking trustees to keep the need in mind for longer-term capital planning.

Trustees pressed staff about the accounting for court revenues and whether the figures shown in the packet were cash received or assessed fines. Staff and trustees clarified that the budget printouts showed cash-in revenue and that the expense lines discussed did not include pension and benefit allocations, an issue trustees said should be more transparent across departments.

Trustees and court staff also discussed language access logistics. Court staff explained they use a mix of in-person interpreters for common languages, a commercial language line for unusual languages and scheduling practices (grouping similar-language cases) to reduce interpreter costs. For criminal matters the court said interpreters are required.

The judge and trustees acknowledged the challenge and cost of stenographers, and Derrico said the court would raise the issue with the administrative judge and Office of Court Administration to explore alternatives to the current certified-stenographer model.

The presentation concluded with the court asking trustees to consider modest pay increases for staff and to note capital needs in future budget planning. The trustees followed with detailed questions about how fringe benefits and pensions are allocated across department budgets; staff indicated those allocations were not fully represented in the department-level expense lines and that a follow-up could provide clearer cross-department accounting.

The trustees did not take a final vote on any court-specific appropriation during the hearing; the presentation was recorded as part of the budget review process.