Joint Benton, Franklin court administration deal close

After months of fractious debate and allegations that one county is subsidizing the other, Benton and Franklin counties likely will adopt by the end of the month a new agreement to oversee Benton-Franklin Superior Court.

Keith Johnson, Franklin County administrator, confirmed Monday that he’s holding ongoing meetings with Loretta Smith-Kelty, Benton County’s deputy administrator, to negotiate a interlocal agreement for the administration of the joint court.

They also are working to identify what if any additional money Franklin County needs to pay to cover its share of administering the combined Superior Court, juvenile court and human services operations.

Franklin County officials now say the amount is “substantially less” than the $661,000 first estimated by Benton County.

Johnson said it’s “very likely” the counties will sign off on the Superior Court agreement before it expires later this month.

“We believe everybody understands there has to be an agreement,” he said.

Interlocal agreements govern the combined Superior Court, public services and juvenile court. Negotiations focused on the Superior Court agreement because it is the first to expire.

The subject took on extra urgency in January when Benton County complained that it was bearing an outsized share of the administrative burden and said it was an illegal use of public funds.

Benton County has said — and Franklin County disputes — that it subsidizes Franklin County by $661,000.

Johnson confirmed the actual subsidy is far less.

“T(hat) includes things that aren’t Franklin County’s responsibility,” he said, declining to elaborate. He said there are “working documents” being reviewed by Franklin County auditing staff.

Neither Benton County Commission Chairman Shon Small nor County Administrator David Sparks could be reached about the negotiations or if they still believe $661,000 is accurate.

The future of the Benton-Franklin Superior Court was cast in doubt in January when Benton County Commissioner Jerome Delvin acknowledged he spoke with Sen. Mike Hewitt, R.-Walla Walla, about possibly introducing legislation to divide the court district.

The agreement died when all three Franklin County commissioners refused to support dividing the court.

Benton-Franklin Superior Court was established in 1951. Each county has its own courthouse, prosecutors and computer systems but Benton County handles administration and bills Franklin County for its share.

The seven judges of the Superior Court bench split their time between the two counties. In February, all seven signed a letter opposing a divide. The letter triggered a sharp response from Benton commissioners.

According to a simple spreadsheet distributed by Benton County, Franklin County is undercharged for its share of administrative costs in five categories: Personnel ($56,256), auditor payroll ($143,789), Superior Court ($42,538), juvenile court ($186,638) and human services ($232,383).

The complaint that one county might be subsidizing the other triggered a war of words between the two elected boards of commissioners.

However, the two boards met together Feb. 25 for the first joint meeting since last summer and discussed pending changes to the way mental health crisis services are delivered. The boards separately but unanimously agreed to hire a consultant to facilitate the process.

This story was originally published March 7, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Joint Benton, Franklin court administration deal close."