County and Port Angeles near agreement on four‑part criminal justice contract; Sequim talks pending

County staff updated the board on multi‑party negotiations to rework criminal justice services contracts with Port Angeles and Sequim.

Staff explained the county’s plan to break services into four separate contracts—jail services, public defense, prosecution and district court services—so each can be negotiated and, if necessary, reopened without automatically disrupting the others. The county team planned to deliver draft jail and public defense contract language by the end of the day and all four draft contracts to Port Angeles by week’s end; staff planned to request a Sequim meeting date within two weeks.

Commissioners discussed contract length (the county prefers shorter terms to maintain flexibility; cities sought multi‑year certainty), operational interdependencies (e.g., if prisoners are housed in another county, public defenders’ travel time and case counts change), and dispute‑resolution language intended to avoid year‑long arbitration. Staff urged a clear timeline and suggested June 30 as a date to consider starting a formal notice clock if negotiations are not substantially complete.

The board heard concerns about how prosecution metrics could be perceived by cities and about municipal code alignment; staff said cities are updating municipal codes and that the contracts would specify responsibilities (for example, code enforcement remaining a city responsibility). The county’s core team will continue weekly meetings and return draft contracts for final consideration.