District Court Administrator - Allegan County

Allegan County has much to offer, with 24 Townships, 9 Cities, and 2 Villages across nearly 900 square miles. The landscapes range from the lakeshore to beautifully wooded lands, our County’s natural resources are a gift to be treasured. Allegan County businesses, citizens, and employees are world-class, and we remain a welcoming, closely-knit community. We are one of the fastest-growing counties in Michigan.
Allegan County Government places high importance on our core values: Respect, Integrity, Commitment and Honesty.  A common thread among our leadership, employees and volunteers is a strong desire to serve and be part of something meaningful. We were recently identified as “Best in Class Winner” among mid-size companies for our excellence in optimizing employee and organizational well-being. We have also received the Impact Award for excellence in educating our employees about their retirement plans and overall financial wellness. We are looking for dedicated, caring, energetic people to join our team!

Job Summary: 

Manages and directs all non-judicial functions of the District Court. Activities include directing a staff responsible for processing civil, criminal, traffic and small claims cases, and providing magisterial and probation services and court security. Responsible for personnel management, caseflow management, fiscal management, program planning, facilities management, jury utilization and other administrative functions. 

Wage Range: $93,828 - $122,886 annually, depending on previous experience, Full-time Salaried

Excellent Benefits Plan:  Health benefits begin on the first of the month after your hire date
- Medical, Dental & Vision (3 medical plans to choose from, 2 of which have a $0 premium)
- County-funded Health Savings Account with our two high-deductible medical plans
- County-paid employee life insurance coverage
- County-paid short-term disability coverage, up to 52 weeks
- Generous retirement plan, including a county contribution of 7% of your annual earnings
- Tuition Reimbursement Program for college degree courses
- Generous PTO plan, including front-loaded hours into PTO bank at hire, and annually on January 1.
- 13 paid holidays, in addition to PTO
- FREE use of Allegan County government's two fitness centers 

Responsibilities and Duties: 

• Directs activities of staff engaged in performing case processing, probation and magisterial functions for the court and is responsible for personnel and labor relations functions including hiring staff, providing staff orientation and training, assigning work, evaluating work performance, disciplining and dealing with employee relations issues. 
• Establishes and maintains sound financial controls. Coordinates audits of the court's financial records and controls, reviews audit findings with auditors and the chief judge, and ensures that audit recommendations are implemented. 
• Prepares budgets for judicial review and approval, presents budgets to funding unit, authorizes and monitors budget expenditures, and works with funding unit, state and federal officials regarding budget and related financial matters. 
• Manages financial transactions ensuring that receivables, expenditures and disbursements are processed as required in accordance with accepted financial controls. Addresses and corrects any collection, disbursement and accounting related irregularities. 
• Oversees case processing activities, including the filing of all legal documents, ensuring the proper custody, maintenance, storage and disposal of court records. 
• Develops and implements an effective caseflow management system to ensure cases are processed in accordance with case management guidelines and standards. Confers with and coordinates the resolution of caseflow management problems with other court staff and judges. 
• Meets regularly with judges and/or court staff to discuss and resolve operational problems and issues, discuss and explain policies and procedures, recommend corrective action and to present proposed policies and procedures. 
• Researches and evaluates legislation, court rules and court operations. Develops and implements caseflow, case processing, security, and program policies and procedures to ensure court operations are in compliance with applicable statutes and court rules, enhance services to court patrons, and to facilitate effective case processing services. 
• Advises staff of legal and procedural impact of new statutes, court rules and court opinions. 
• Serves as liaison to county officials, local bar association, state and federal agencies, legislators, community agencies, news media, schools and colleges, and other agencies and organizations. Explains court functions and programs, discusses legislation, explains court policy and procedures, addresses complaints and service issues, and coordinates services and programs. 
• Oversees jury utilization for the court, ensuring that adequate juror pools are available, jurors are summoned, and that effective orientation and training is provided to prospective jurors. Oversees the preparation of payment vouchers to witnesses and jurors. 
• Complies court activity statistics and prepares reports containing caseload, financial and related information. Analyzes case activity, including trends, and projects future staffing, information system and facility needs. 
• Directs and participates in projects to study case processing, computerization, video arraignment, disbursement, collections and service related matters. 
• Assists staff with case processing and case investigative and supervision problems. Recommends alternatives and methods to resolve problems. Performs the work of court staff as required. 
• Serves as the courts TAC in LEIN and adopts internal SOS abstracting policies and procedures. Ensures proper documentation is maintained and available for LEIN audits. 
• Serves as Magistrate as needed and may perform any or all of the following functions:
  • • Accepts and examines criminal complaints and examines witnesses in order to determine probable cause for issuing arrest warrants authorized by the prosecuting attorney.*
    • Sets or denies bail in criminal matters based on seriousness of charge, likelihood of accused’s court appearance and other relevant factors. May set conditions for bond or commit accused persons to jail in lieu of bail.*
    • Conducts informal hearings in civil infraction matters. Explains the law and procedures to parties, hears testimony, examines witnesses under oath, makes findings of fact and conclusions of law, and assesses appropriate sanctions upon findings of responsibility.*
    • Accepts admissions of responsibility in civil infraction cases, considers defendants’ verbal or written explanations, and determines appropriate disposition of cases, including assessing fines and other sanctions.*
    • Serves in an on-call capacity of the issuance of warrants and setting of bonds.*
    • Performs civil wedding ceremonies.*

Education: 

• Juris Doctor (J.D.) Required

Experience: 

• Five (5) years of progressively more responsible administrative experience, including prior supervisory experience, in a District Court or closely related setting. 
• Must be a registered voter in Allegan County
• Must be licensed and in good standing with the Michigan Bar
• Must successfully complete the Michigan Judicial Institute training course on traffic law adjudication and sanctions

Allegan County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. A copy of our EEO Utilization report is available on our website:
https://www.allegancounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/2802/637974740005930000
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