North Bend staff brief council on King County Sheriff policing interlocal agreement; no council action tonight

North Bend finance director Martin Shaw presented the King County Sheriff’s Office interlocal agreement on Feb. 3, saying the agreement would move the city from Snoqualmie-provided policing toward a county-contracted model in two phases.

Shaw said the transition would begin with a flex model running from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2026, and convert to a dedicated “city services” model on Jan. 1, 2027. Under the dedicated model the county would provide two patrol officers in the city at most times, dropping to one officer between midnight and 5:59 a.m., with additional specialty units available as needed. Shaw said the county’s “cost book” defines the purchased services.

Shaw told council the city would owe a one-time onboarding charge of $1,200,000 amortized over 60 months and that staffing costs at full service are roughly equivalent to 10.6 full-time equivalents (about 8.2 FTEs under the flex model). He said the first-year staffing cost under the flex model is just under $2.5 million and that the county’s estimates project cost escalation over time, with a range “somewhere between 5.4 to $5,900,000” by 2031 under their scenario.

Staff also described operational and governance details: monthly reporting on overtime and specialty pay, an annual reconciliation process in March, possible overtime billing for city discretionary events, and an 18-month wind-down and notification process if North Bend chose to form its own police department or switch providers. Shaw said North Bend would hold a seat on the oversight committee of contract cities.

Council members asked for clarifications about facilities and policy. Shaw said the county’s dedicated officers would occupy space in the City Hall annex downtown, and that lease and transition work with Simon Property regarding the outlet-mall office space would be brought back to council for review once finalized. In response to a question about immigration-enforcement practices, staff said local policy adherence follows Washington state law and that the sheriff’s office policy is essentially consistent with the state requirement not to interrogate people about immigration status.

No formal council vote was required that night; Shaw said the presentation was provided in a public setting because the mayor already had authority to negotiate and execute the agreement.

The council did not take action on the ILA at the Feb. 3 meeting. Staff said the item had been reviewed by council committees and would be subject to ongoing updates to the interlocal agreement that staff expected to share with contract cities by mid-2026.