Sr. Court Clerk

Salary : $45,926.40 – $52,811.20 Annually

Location : 1200 Highway 6 South Sugar Land, TX

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Number: 2300610

Department: Finance

Division: Municipal Court

Opening Date: 06/06/2023

Closing Date: 6/12/2023 5:00 PM Central

Position Description

The City of Sugar Land is seeking a full-time Sr. Court Clerk in the Municipal Court division of the Finance department.

Why Should You Join Our Team?
We are a full-service municipality located approximately 20 miles southwest of downtown Houston that invests in our team and offers real opportunities for career growth. We pay our Sr. Court Clerk a competitive salary starting at $22.08 per hour, depending on your qualifications. We also offer great benefits and perks available on your first day of employment, including:City-subsidized health benefits; life and disability insurance; a variety of voluntary benefits; a robust pension plan with TMRS to set you up for a fulfilling retirement; flexible schedules and work from home opportunities, a down-to-earth casual environment and dress code, and a positive team-oriented culture stemming from a long-term commitment to innovation and inclusion. You can even bring your dog and/or cat to work if they have a solid understanding of office decorum.

Benefits At A Glance:

• City-subsidized Medical and Dental Insurance with a variety of plan options;
• City-paid Basic Life Insurance @ 1x your annual salary and Long-term Disability;
• Voluntary Vision, Supplemental Life Coverage (for you and your family), Aflac indemnity plans such as Accident, Cancer, Hospitalization and Critical Illness, Short Term Disability and pre-paid legal benefits through Legal Shield;
• 9 paid holidays and up to 3 floating holidays to use at your discretion;
• A generous vacation package with accruals starting on day 1;
• Paid sick leave;
• A robust pension plan with TMRS includes your 7% contribution with 2:1 match by the City to set you up for a fulfilling retirement;
• You won’t contribute to Social Security, but you can further your retirement income by contributing to a Deferred Compensation (457b) plan;
• Longevity pay for each month of service after your first 13 months of employment;
• On-site Wellness facilities and programming (mind, body spirit & financial preparedness); and
• Access to multiple mental health benefits and resources, including a robust EAP;

If we have your attention… Please. Continue. Reading!

About the City of Sugar Land
The City of Sugar Land, a municipality with a population of 111,026, provides the highest quality of affordable services to meet the needs of its residents. Master-planned communities and welcoming neighborhoods enhance home values and create a sense of belonging. The community offers outstanding schools, libraries, parks, museums, restaurants, entertainment venues, and other resources that make Sugar Land a great place to work, live and raise a family. Sugar Land’s aggressive economic development program has created a business-friendly environment, and numerous high-profile regional and international corporations have chosen Sugar Land as their corporate home. Sugar Land is also home to an award-winning regional airport and multiple civic organizations for those interested in the community and government.

We are proud to have been named one of the Top 50 places to live in the United States by The Press of Atlantic City and the Top 25 Best Places to Live for Families by Fortune Magazine. We hire people based on their potential, not just their experience. We have an informal work environment but are serious about what we do. We believe that happy, diverse and talented employees add value to the City. We do our best to hire friendly, professional people who work hard and play well with others. We also promote a healthy work-life balance and personal development.

Are we the right fit for YOU?
The ideal candidate must be customer service oriented and be able to manage the logistics of multiple duties with professionalism and strong communication skills. In addition, strong attention to detail and ability to work in a fast-paced environment is critical for success in the role, as are high levels of accuracy, timeliness, and dependability.

We are looking for someone who can establish and maintain effective working relationships within the organization; work effectively with all levels of employees and management; and assist in providing solutions to challenges that arise. Ask yourself: Do you enjoy working with people? Are you organized and detail-oriented? Can you manage your time well and prioritize multiple tasks effectively? If so, please consider applying for the Sr. Court Clerk position today!
Summary of Duties
As our Sr. Court Clerk, you will represent the City and will be expected to provide exceptional customer service to both internal and external customers.

• Manages staff by participating in hiring process, establishing work schedule(s), performance coaching, providing training, evaluating performance, and making recommendations for promotion, discipline and/or termination.
• Oversees and monitors cash management processes, including cashiering for revenues, money instruments and bank deposit preparation.
• Ensures money and case files are reconciled weekly, develops, and recommends policies and/or procedures to ensure compliance to standing orders and City policies and has up-to-date applications, policies, schedule of fees, etc. Communicates this information to Court Clerks.
• Acts upon requests to de-escalate difficult customer/ citizen complaints or concerns.
• Manages and processes various tickler folders for the judge.
• Serves as notary.
• Fills in as a Court Clerk and provides customer service at the lobby window when needed.

Other responsibilities include:

• Performs extensive data entry.
• Effectively assists the public in a friendly and efficient manner, both in person and via telephone.
• Receives and processes payments of fines, fees, and court costs at the window as well as processes payments paid by credit card over the telephone and the Internet.
• Interprets and effectively explains state law, possible options and other miscellaneous information to defendants in person or via phone and/or email.
• Processes and reconciles daily cash receipts and balances cash drawer daily.
• Processes incoming records request
• Reviews citations after entry for errors and notifies clerk for correction.
• Creates and assigns call lists to clerks.
• Contacts defendants via phone regarding options and court dates
• Maintains daily log of items received through mail and drop box.

• Prepares and mails letters to parent/child regarding upcoming juvenile cases as well as notices to registered vehicle own Requires a working knowledge of Municipal Court procedures, processes, principles and practices of public administration and the geographic make-up of the city, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Penal Code, traffic laws, and City Ordinances.

• Files all citations daily and the final dispositions monthly.
• Processes Statements of Intent to Prosecute filed by Sugar Land Officers and citizens and sends notification to all parties in a timely manner.
• Regular on-site attendance is an essential function of this position.
• Required to work as an essential employee before, during and after an emergency or disaster, whether natural or acts of war.
• Stay abreast of, and comply with, all City and departmental policies and procedures.
• Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned by the Director, Court Administrator, Deputy Court Administrator, and/or their designee(s).

Minimum Qualifications
Being personable, patient and professional, you listen and respond to customer needs. You are a team player and are willing to step in to assist where needed. At the end of the day, you get great satisfaction out of making both our internal and external customer experience a success and positively memorable! If you can do those things and meet the following requirements, we would be happy to speak with you:

Formal Education:

• High school diploma or equivalent GED supplemented with course work in typing, business machine and personal computer operations.
• Some college and/or continuing education coursework is desirable.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Two years of customer service experience.
• Two years of cash handling experience, which includes processing payments, balancing cash drawer, and preparing deposits.
• One year of supervisory experience, two years is preferred.
• Municipal court experience is preferred.
• Any equivalent combination of experience and training which provides the knowledge and abilities necessary to perform the work.

Training (License and/or Certification):

• Valid Texas Driver’s License.
• Certified Court Clerk I (CCCI) preferred or ability to obtain within one year of hire.

Additional Information

NOTE: All candidates must be able to pass a Criminal History background check.

Our success is achieved by the courage to do things differently and accept that failure will occur on the path to innovation.

The City of Sugar Land is an equal opportunity employer.

CITY OF SUGAR LAND’s OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

• Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)

Employee contribution: 7%

City matches 2:1 with 5-year vesting

Retirement Eligibility:

1) Age 60 + vested; or

2) 20 years of service, any age

• HOLIDAYS

The City recognizes 10 Holidays per calendar year, which includes one floating Holiday. In lieu of a floating holiday,
firefighters will receive September 11th, Patriot Day, as a fixed holiday.

• VACATION – Other than Public Safety

0 -2nd Year 10 days per year
3 -10 Years 15 days per year

11+ Years 20 days per year

• VACATION – Public Safety

First Year 10 days per year

2-10 Years 15 days per year

11+ Years 20 days per year

• SICK LEAVE – Other than Firefighters

8 hours per month, to a maximum of 1,040 hours

• SICK LEAVE – Shift Firefighters

12 hours per month, to a maximum of 1,456 hours

• SICK LEAVE INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Annual conversion of sick leave to vacation

Sick Days Used from 01/01 to 12/31 Eligible Sick Days for Conversion

1 day or less taken 3 days

Up to 2 ½ days 2 days

More than 2 ½ days and up to 4 days 1 day

More than 4 days 0 day

• LONGEVITY PAY

After one year of employment, employees will receive an annual payment of $4.00 per month of employment with the City for the first 25 years of continuous employment (maximum of $1,200 annually). Qualified employees receive longevity payments each December.

• 125 CAFETERIA PLAN

Premium contributions for the medical and dental plans as well as Flexible Spending Accounts and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts are available to all full-time employees through this arrangement.

• GROUP HEALTH & DENTAL

The City contributes to employee and dependent coverage in the HMO, HDHP and dental plans offered.

Medical HSA KelseyCare Gold KelseyCare Blue Employee Only $101.44 $19.56 $0.00 EE + Spouse $346.60 $144.55 $96.48 EE + Child(ren) $257.51 $106.09 $66.79 EE + Family $454.39 $202.24 $141.00 Dental DPPO DHMO Employee Only $7.35 $3.14 EE + Spouse $18.49 $5.89 EE + Child(ren) $17.90 $8.45 EE + Family $31.41 $10.33 Vision Plan Employee Only $7.35 EE + Spouse $18.49 EE + Child(ren) $17.90 EE + Family $31.41

• VISION CARE PLAN

Employees can voluntarily elect to purchase vision care insurance for themselves and their eligible dependents.

• AFLAC PLANS

Employees can voluntarily elect to purchase through payroll deduction: Accident, Cancer, Critical Illness, and Hospital policies for themselves and their eligible dependents. (Rates are age-banded. Employee must contact representative directly for rates and enrollment.)

• BASIC LIFE and AD&D

The City provides all employees annual salary of life insurance and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) coverage of one-time annual salary with a minimum of $50,000.

• LONG TERM DISABILITY

The City provides employees with Long Term Disability in the amount of 60% of your salary (depending on position category) to a maximum of $7,500 per month. Benefits begin after 90 days of disability and may continue to Social Security Normal Retirement Age (SSNRA) if you qualify. LTD is designed to replace a reasonable portion of your income in case of
serious injury or sickness whether on or off the job. Benefits will be offset by any payments from SS, Workers Comp and other income offsets.

• SUPPLEMENTAL LIFE and AD&D

Employees can elect supplemental life insurance and AD&D coverage up to $750,000 for themselves and up to $250,000 for their spouse; as well as $15,000 of life insurance for child(ren).

• SHORT TERM DISABILITY

This optional benefit allows employees to receive 70% of their weekly salary, to a maximum of $1,500 per week (tax free), following either Option A: a 30-calendar day elimination period; or Option B: a 7-calendar (injury) or 14-calendar (illness) elimination period, for a maximum of 90-calendar days from on-set per qualifying incident.

• PRE-PAID LEGAL PLAN

Employees can voluntarily elect to participate in a legal access/assistance plan at a base cost of $7.87 per pay period. Optional plans are also available. (Employee must contact representative directly for rates and enrollment.)

• DEFERRED COMPENSATION

Employees are allowed to contribute to this optional program at a minimum set by the plan administrator and a maximum set annually by the IRS. Currently the City contracts with 2 administrators for this program: Dearborn & Creggs ($50 per month minimum contribution); and ICMA-RC ($1.00 per month min. contribution). The maximum contribution for 2023 is $19,500
and $6,500 for age 50 + catch-up.

• CREDIT UNIONS

Houston Federal Credit Union: (866) OUR-HFCU

Brazos Valley Schools Credit Union: (855) 391-2149

• EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE

The EAP is designed to provide employees and their dependents with professional, cost-effective assistance in resolving difficult personal problems. Individual, voluntary involvement in the EAP is confidential. The City’s EAP administrator is Alliance Work Partners (AWP) at 1-800-343-3822. Registration code: AWP-COSL-3822