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Commissioners approve contract for outside investigator for public defense
Summary
The board authorized a case-by-case contract with investigator Patrick Hannigan at $60 per hour, with per-case caps and a term through Dec. 31, 2025.
The Okanogan County Board of Commissioners approved a contract with investigator Patrick Hannigan to provide case-by-case investigative services for the Office of Public Defense through Dec. 31, 2025.
Under the contract, the investigator will be paid $60 per hour. The county recorded two caps in the contract language discussed: a $350 cap for district court investigations and a $750 cap for felony investigations; the board clarified those caps apply per case. The contract requires additional funds to be approved by the Office of Public Defense director if needed.
The contract was presented to the board during the meeting; commissioners moved and seconded the agreement and voted to sign the contract. Staff said the arrangement addresses a conflict where the regular investigator could not handle multiple defendants in the same case.
The county flagged the payment terms and the per-case caps during discussion and asked staff to clarify language so the $350 and $750 limits would be recorded as per-case maximums. The contract will be paid from the Office of Public Defense budget.
