PORT ANGELES — Clallam County commissioners today are expected to ink a “landmark agreement” with the city of Port Angeles for consolidated criminal justice services.
The county would handle all infractions and misdemeanor cases that originate in the city — providing prosecution, indigent defense, adjudication in District Court No. 1, fine collection and jailing — under the terms of an interlocal agreement that commissioners will consider today.
The three commissioners Monday said they support the all-in-one law and justice contract, which the Port Angeles City Council approved unanimously Nov. 3.
“This is a really big, big deal for the future,” County Administrator Jim Jones told commissioners in a Monday work session.
“It will give us the first step in a series of things that will consolidate a lot of city-county work that should be consolidated.”
Jones said he has worked with Port Angeles City Manager Dan McKeen and three of McKeen’s predecessors on criminal justice consolidation over the past several years.
The city will pay the county a flat fee of $800,000 for the provision of misdemeanor law and justice services in 2016, with future payments tied to the Consumer Price Index, according to the agreement.
The city will save an estimated $171,000 next year, Jones said.
An additional $388,839 in expense to Clallam County will be more than offset by $378,500 in new revenue and “significant operational efficiencies, primarily in the court and in the jail,” Jones said.
The agreement also will reduce duplication, contain costs and provide budget predictability and prosecutorial and judicial continuity, Jones said in an executive summary.
“This is a model of cooperation,” Port Angeles City Councilwoman and former Mayor Cherie Kidd said at the Nov. 3 council meeting.
A similar all-in-one agreement with the city of Sequim is in the works.
Sequim would pay the county $320,000 for law and justice services in 2016, according to a draft agreement that the Sequim City Council was expected to consider Monday night.
Sequim officials have said the all-in-one contract would save about $80,000 per year.
Commissioner Mike Chapman credited county Sheriff Bill Benedict for gaining the trust of both cities by negotiating a flat fee for use of the Clallam County jail.
“That was a landmark agreement at the time,” Chapman said of the jail contracts.
“And I think this is more of a landmark agreement.”
Chapman added: “It’s one of those agreements that probably won’t be headline news and won’t get the press that it should, but it’s a really good deal.”
Criminal justice consolidation was discussed at length in a series of budget meetings that commissioners held with individual elected officials and department heads late last month.
Clallam County District Court No. 1 Judge Rick Porter, Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols, Benedict and other county officials helped to develop the new structure.
“All in all, I think it’s a net benefit to the citizens of Clallam County,” Nichols said Monday.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb contributed to this report.
