City of Grants Pass City Council Workshop November 2, 2026

The City of Grants Pass City Council held a workshop on November 2, 2026, focused primarily on a proposal to establish a municipal court. Staff outlined procurement and startup needs, including a judge selected through an RFP or RFQ process with council interviews, a court supervisor and clerk, contracted security and—if misdemeanors are included—prosecution and indigent-defense services, jail-bed arrangements, and a court case-management system. Estimated one-time startup costs were about $122,500 for a violations-level court and $134,500 with misdemeanors, including approximately $40,000 to adapt the city-owned 124 Midland property; adapting the Yankee Pot Roast building was estimated at $165,000. The case-management system estimate was $37,000, plus $11,000 for a jury module if misdemeanors are handled. No contracts were awarded or final decision made to establish the court.

Council voted unanimously to continue exploring the proposal. Members generally favored developing a scope that could include violations, misdemeanors, and hearings-officer matters, while requesting clearer financial and operational details before a final commitment. Staff cited a potential first-year general-fund draw of about $805,000 for the misdemeanor option, with estimates dependent on revenues, fees, jail-bed availability, and contract terms; proposed contracts would return to council for review. Possible administrative and program fees were raised as ways to offset costs. The workshop also included brief agenda and policy discussions, including deferred-development agreements and an upcoming Teamsters-related employee agreement; no additional procurement decisions were identified.