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County discusses prosecutor conflict and outside counsel support for Charter Review Commission; board budgets background work
Summary
Commissioners discussed legal support and background materials for the Charter Review Commission on an issue involving the prosecutor's office, directed staff to provide statutory and constitutional references, and noted a budget line in the debatable-emergencies notice to cover historical costs and limited legal services.
Clallam County commissioners discussed Jan. 14 how to support the Charter Review Commission when the county prosecutor is conflicted out of advising on a specific "corner" issue. Commissioners directed staff to provide background materials and identified that the county had placed $82,100 in a debatable-emergency notice to cover historical costs and limited outside legal services if needed.
Why it matters: the Charter Review Commission will examine the county charter and options for county offices. The discussion addressed the legal distinction between home-rule counties (which the county charter references) and statutory (code) counties, and whether options exist to change how certain county officers are selected (elected versus appointed). Commissioners want the Charter Review Commission to receive a neutral legal background and, if needed, limited outside counsel to analyze options where the prosecutor's office has a conflict.
During the Jan. 14 work session staff described the background package they plan to provide: copies of relevant Revised Code of Washington (RCW) citations as they existed prior to Jan. 1, the current RCWs, constitutional references, and other statutory language to help the commission understand legal options. A county staff member told the board, "I think I can handle the background," indicating staff will prepare the historical and statutory materials; commissioners also said limited outside counsel might be necessary to explain legal options for reorganizing county offices.
The board placed a notional $82,100 in the debatable-emergencies notice that will be considered at the Jan. 28 hearing; staff said that $4,000 of that amount is a general set-aside for professional services and that any additional outside-counsel work would be limited and paid from that appropriation if authorized.
Commissioners emphasized that the county does not intend to preempt the Charter Review Commission's work but wants to ensure the commission has access to an impartial legal explanation of options, including whether the county's home-rule authority under the state constitution permits appointment of certain officers while statutory law prescribes elected offices for code counties.
