Lake Stevens council approves amended Feldman & Lee public defense contract amid rising caseload rules
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Summary
The Lake Stevens City Council voted to authorize an amendment to its public defense contract with Feldman & Lee after staff said the firm required higher compensation to meet Washington Supreme Court caseload‑reduction rules; the amendment raises the contract to $28,500 per month and was approved to avoid service interruption.
The Lake Stevens City Council on March 24 approved an amendment to the city’s public defense contract with Feldman & Lee after staff said the firm required more funding to adapt to recently clarified state court rules.
City staff described negotiations that produced an amended monthly fee of $28,500. Jean, a city staff member handling the contract presentation, told the council the increase reflected pressure on public defense providers to reduce individual attorney caseloads and the need to hire additional attorneys: “we negotiated a new agreement, and we came to agreement that 28,500 per month would be the new amount that we would be paying them to provide this public defense service.”
A representative identified on the call as Greg (legal staff) said the changes stem from Washington Supreme Court rules, not from new legislation, and that the court has allowed a multi‑year implementation schedule. “This last year, they passed some additional rules that mandated a significant reduction in the number of cases that an individual public defender would take,” Greg said, and added that the first required reductions would likely start in 2027 under the court’s timetable.
Council members voiced concern about the size of the increase and about budgeting for further future increases. One council member summarized: “We’re basically paying for an additional public defender,” and others urged staff to explore countywide or multijurisdictional contracting as a possible cost‑saving approach.
Councilmember [mover] moved to "authorize the mayor to sign the Feldman and Lee contract for public defense services amendment 5;" the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. Staff said the additional cost is covered in current budget authorizations and recommended passing the amendment to avoid interruption of public defense services.
Council asked staff to gather more detailed caseload and cost data (including 2024–25 case counts) and to explore alternatives ahead of future contract renewals.
The amendment was adopted; council members said they will pursue additional research and regional options in the coming months.
