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Renton budget amendment proposes end to city‑run electronic home detention; staff, former officers spar over risks
Summary
A proposed mid‑biennium budget amendment would dissolve the city‑operated electronic home detention program and shift monitoring to private providers, city staff told the Renton City Council. Former and current program staff and the police guild urged the council to retain the in‑house program, citing training, oversight, and equity concerns.
Renton City Council heard a public hearing and multiple public comments Tuesday on a mid‑biennium budget amendment that, as drafted, would end the city‑operated electronic home detention (EHD) program and rely on private providers to deliver monitoring services.
Kristin Travellas, Renton finance director, opened the public hearing and said the council would consider updated budget figures at a Finance Committee meeting on Oct. 27 before any final adoption. "All of our public hearings have been properly noticed and provide the opportunity for stakeholders to provide their input," she said.
Several speakers with direct experience in Renton’s EHD program urged the council to keep the program in city hands. "The problem is not electronic home detention department. The problem now is communication within the city of Renton," said former EHD coordinator Darryl Pilote, describing three decades of work and warning that terminating long‑tenured staff would sacrifice institutional knowledge.
Georgia Bunko…
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