Thurston County District Court needs 17 new employees over two years to keep operations from grinding to a halt, its top judge warned commissioners.

Presiding Judge Brett Buckley delivered the warning to the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 27, as first reported by The Olympian.

Buckley compared the threat to an asteroid. "We see this asteroid aiming at District Court, and it's going to crash down on us and create a giant hole," he said.

The asteroid has a name: Enterprise Justice, a statewide case management system that Thurston County District Court is scheduled to adopt in October 2027, The Olympian reported.

The system replaces software the state developed in the 1980s. Court administrator Frankie Peters said his staff timed how long routine tasks take in the new system versus the old one. For many tasks, the new system is slower.

Peters estimated the new system would roughly triple the court's workload because of the added time each entry requires. Issuing a warrant, for example, would take four times as long.

Assuming full current capacity, that pace would produce a backlog of 562 warrants after just two months, according to the court's presentation. Delays of up to 32 days from a warrant's initial order could follow.

Peters said he cross-referenced his findings with courts that adopted the system a year or more ago, so his calculations account for efficiencies that build over time.

The price tag

Hiring 17 people would cost nearly $1.9 million, Peters estimated. The county's share would be $965,000. Cities that contract with the court would cover $890,000.

The requested positions include one new judge, four court support specialists, six judicial support specialists, two civil court clerks, one court financial specialist, a calendar coordinator, a records coordinator and a judicial aide. Peters said most positions are specialized and require extended training, which is why the court needs up to two years to fill them.

The court's 2026 expenditure budget is about $8.5 million. It has about 50 employees, Peters told the board during a September budget exercise.

A tight budget

The staffing request lands as Thurston County faces a $22.3 million structural deficit in its general fund.

To address that gap, county leaders plan to spread cost-cutting measures over three years and draw $1 million annually from a $4 million rainy day fund, according to county documents.

Buckley acknowledged the tension. He said he felt "very uncomfortable" requesting "a lot of money" given the county's finances.

The board made no decision Tuesday. In March, commissioners directed budget staff to exclude new positions and policy funding that would affect the general fund in the 2026–2027 biennial budget midterm adjustment. That adjustment goes to a vote Dec. 15.

What residents would feel

Without new staff, the court system would slow across the board, Buckley and Peters said. The court may stop processing infractions, halt action on failures to respond to or pay tickets and stop sending cases to collections, according to the presentation.

Civil filings could face delays stretching from months to years. Counter and phone services would shrink further.

Peters noted that some of those cutbacks would also reduce county revenue, compounding the budget problem.

The court handles misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors, traffic and non-traffic infractions, civil cases up to $100,000, anti-harassment protection orders, name changes and small claims up to $10,000. It also runs a mental health court and a veterans court.

Thurston County is among the jurisdictions scheduled to adopt Enterprise Justice in 2027, according to the Washington Courts project website. The Olympian reported the county is part of a group of 18 jurisdictions slated for that rollout.