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City to accept $30,000 SPAR grant for defense costs tied to simple possession cases, committee forwards to consent agenda
Summary
Staff said the state Office of Public Defense is offering $30,000 to help cities pay for public-defense costs arising from court decisions and legislative changes affecting simple possession cases; the committee forwarded acceptance of the SPAR grant to the Sept. 16 consent agenda.
Acting staff filling in for the city administrator presented a SPAR grant acceptance and agreement from the state Office of Public Defense to offset municipal costs of defending certain simple-possession controlled-substance charges that, following a Washington Supreme Court decision and legislative changes, created a new municipal funding obligation.
What it covers: Staff described the grant as targeted to the recently assigned municipal defense obligation for simple possession cases; the grant award amount is $30,000 and, if accepted, must be used for the specified defense services. The presenter confirmed the grant dollars are restricted to the eligible charge types identified by the state program.
Questions from council: Councilmembers asked how far the $30,000 will go compared with the city’s overall public-defense expenditures; staff said they would follow up with more precise figures. Members also asked whether the award amounts were uniform among cities or based on population; staff said they would confirm that prior to council action.
Action and next steps: Committee members moved and seconded forwarding acceptance of the SPAR grant and agreement to the Sept. 16, 2025 consent agenda for council approval.
Ending: Staff will return data to council on how the $30,000 relates to the city’s public-defense expenditures and whether the award is population-weighted or uniform across municipalities.
