Anacortes pulls out of four‑city indigent defense interlocal to negotiate its own contract

The Anacortes City Council voted Monday to amend an interlocal agreement among Burlington, Mount Vernon, Sedro‑Woolley and Anacortes so that Anacortes can exclude itself from a joint procurement for indigent defense services and negotiate directly with a firm that indicated it would serve only Anacortes.

City staff said the four cities had issued a joint request for qualifications. Several respondents indicated they could serve multiple jurisdictions; one respondent — a law firm with prior experience on Whidbey Island and in Island County — told staff it was interested only in contracting for Anacortes. To allow Burlington, Mount Vernon and Sedro‑Woolley to proceed together with their cost‑sharing allocations while the city negotiates with the single firm, staff proposed an amendment removing Anacortes from the interlocal allocation.

City staff told council they expect to bring a negotiated contract forward at the next council meeting. Councilmember Walters questioned choosing an outlier respondent; staff said the firm’s practice and existing work in similar jurisdictions made it a fit for Anacortes’ needs and that the other cities supported the amendment so they could reallocate costs among themselves.

Councilmember Fantini moved to adopt the interlocal amendment; Councilmember McDougall seconded. The council approved the amendment in voice vote with all present voting yes. Staff said existing indigent defense arrangements (the meeting referenced Mountain Law) will be replaced as the new contract is finalized and brought before council.