Clallam County adopts budget "debatable emergencies," including law-library subscription and animal-control costs

The Clallam County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 9 adopted a resolution approving a package of budget "debatable emergencies," covering several small line-item additions and a year-end ‘‘true up’’ of shared-service allocations.

At a public hearing before the vote, CFO Mark said the law library needs an additional $5,000 to cover higher-than-expected online subscription costs as the county moves resources to a digital platform. "We decided to expand the offering," Mark said, citing materials such as landlord-tenant, estate and custody resources that local attorneys on the law-library board recommended be added to the digital collection.

Public commenters questioned aspects of the library move. Denise Lamio, a Sequim resident, said she was "dismayed" that full legal-resource access would still require visits to terminals in Port Angeles or Forks and asked why more online licenses were not purchased for home access.

The board clarified that two dedicated terminals using Lexis+ will be available at the Port Angeles and Forks branches and that a more limited set of digital resources will be accessible from home via the North Olympic Library System website once licensing and interface issues are resolved. Commissioners said the change cuts overall law-library costs and reduces the need for paper volumes that rapidly go out of date.

The package also included several public-safety and operations items: $13,665 for animal-control costs tied to a large livestock neglect case and $8,000 to replace an aging live-scan fingerprint unit used for background checks and concealed-pistol licensing. CFO Mark said those purchases were needed because existing equipment and software are no longer supported.

A larger set of adjustments reflected a required reconciliation of indirect costs across county funds. Mark described a statutorily required annual process with the state auditor to determine each fund’s correct share of overhead. The staff identified a $24,239 refund due to some funds and $413,697 returning into the general fund as part of the 2024 shared-services cost-allocation true up; in aggregate the related adjustments discussed totaled roughly $315,697 for certain transfers and write‑ins enumerated at the hearing.

Several residents voiced objections during the hearing, focusing on county spending priorities and the use of funds for nonprofit partners. The board and staff repeatedly emphasized that certain pilot funds—such as dollars dedicated to a safe‑parking pilot—are restricted to homelessness services and cannot be redirected to unrelated projects such as sewer expansions.

After the hearing, Commissioner (S2) moved to close public testimony, the board discussed the items and the chair put the resolution to a voice vote. The chair announced the motion approved by the board.

The county said next steps include completing licensing and interface work for the digital law-library access and implementing the approved equipment purchases and fund adjustments to close 2024 accounts in compliance with the state auditor’s guidance.