‘Backed into a corner.’ Benton ready to sue Franklin County over juvenile services
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Benton County prepares lawsuit to enforce juvenile services contract.
- Franklin plans switch to Martin Hall, cutting juvenile budget and shifting cases.
- Benton faces $1M–$2.4M exposure and up to 70 jobs at risk from abrupt exit.
Benton County is preparing to sue its neighbor over a juvenile services dispute that could cost taxpayers millions and put workers out of their jobs.
Despite a contract in place through 2033, Franklin County appears to be preparing to sever its juvenile agreement with Benton County by the end of this month.
Benton County Deputy Administrator Matt Rasmussen said Benton County only found out about the decision when Franklin asked Benton Franklin Superior Court to approve its shift of juvenile offenders to a new facility.
Franklin County wants to switch to using a privately-run facility, Martin Hall, on the same campus as Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake. It is a regional juvenile services center used by ten counties, including Spokane, Ferry, Stephens and Adams counties.
While Franklin commissioners have not publicly discussed making the change, they voted after a closed-door executive session in November to enter negotiations with Martin Hall’s operators.
The Superior Court judges denied the county’s request to end the bi-county agreement in two letters obtained by the Tri-City Herald. The first letter, dated Dec. 3, asked for a meeting with Franklin County leaders.
The second letter, dated Dec. 10, references the meeting and Franklin County’s intent to terminate the contract. The letter described the move as “essentially a de-funding of Juvenile Justice entirely” and requested the county restore $2.9 million in funding within their 2026 budget by Dec. 19.
Rasmussen said the request to move facilities gave an effective date of Dec. 31.
The Tri-Cities juvenile facility at 5606 W. Canal Dr. in Kennewick has a courtroom, detention center and staff currently used by both counties. It’s unclear where hearings would take place if Franklin County pulls out.
Rasmussen told Benton County commissioners during their Tuesday meeting that it appears Franklin is still moving forward with sending juvenile offenders to a facility two hours away from the Tri-Cities.
“They have not reached out to us at all, and frankly they have not discussed it much in their public meetings,” he said.
He pointed to Franklin County’s recently passed budget, which drops its juvenile spending from around $2.9 million in 2025 to just $500,000 for 2026, as well as a new job listing advertised for a juvenile probation counselor and coordinator services position.
“The individual in this role will supervise juvenile offenders assigned to probation, oversee the Diversion Program for minor and first-time offenders, and coordinate transportation and services for juvenile detainees held at Martin Hall,” according to the job listing.
The listing shows a posted date of Dec. 12. A third letter from the Superior Court was delivered to Franklin County on Monday, requesting another meeting.
Rasmussen said both the county and the court seem ready to work with Franklin County to figure out a path forward.
Franklin County Administrator Brian Dansel declined to comment to the Herald about the county’s plan because of Benton County’s potential legal action.
“I don’t watch or tune into the Benton County commissioner’s meetings at all, so I don’t know specifically what was mentioned,” Dansel said in an email to the Herald. “Because of that, and because it sounds like there may be a forthcoming legal dispute, I am going to take our legal counsel’s advice and not make any further comments at this time.”
Franklin County added several items to their agenda at the start of their Wednesday meeting related to juvenile services. The items were all added under the consent portion of the agenda without discussion. They were approved by commissioners Clint Didier and Stephen Bauman. Commissioner Rocky Mullen was not present.
They include a new juvenile services job posting, an agreement with Martin Hall and a transportation agreement for juvenile services.
What’s the impact?
The potential loss of $2.9 million has left Benton County scrambling. Commissioners are concerned they will have to either cut employees or find savings in other areas.
The change could impact up to 70 employees. Some are unionized, meaning the county would have to negotiate any changes.
“Because of the short amount of time and no notice, we’re looking at some significant impacts in the personnel side,” Rasmussen told commissioners.
Rasmussen told the Herald in an email that they are estimating a $1 million to $1.5 million impact to Benton County taxpayers.
“We are uncertain of the plan Franklin County has to pick up services since they’ve communicated nothing with us,” Rasmussen said. “We also have not heard anything on this topic in any of their public meetings so it bears the question on how these highly impactful decisions are being made with no public discussion.”
Rasmussen told commissioners that had Franklin County opened negotiations to exit the agreement six months ago, they could have worked something out.
“When we get a week and a half notice that this agreement is potentially no longer in place, we’re backed into a corner and need to do something,” he said. “We do not have the room in our biennial (budget) to absorb that cost, it’s going to be a challenge to Benton County.”
There has been tension between the two counties over juvenile services for several months, after a series of lawsuits related to alleged abuses at state-run facilities led Benton to reevaluate its contracts to ensure the counties were sharing legal liability.
Statewide, more than 300 former inmates are suing, claiming they were sexually abused while incarcerated at Washington juvenile detention centers dating back to the 1950s.
That led both Benton and Franklin counties to consider whether to keep their joint bi-county services, which was seen over years as a way to share the costs.
In September, Franklin County abruptly walked away from a joint human services contract, which impacts housing assistance, developmental disability resources and veterans services.
After some negotiation, they were able to put a temporary contract into place, keeping the partnership through summer 2026 in order to facilitate a more orderly transition.
Franklin leaders also have previously discussed whether they should leave the regional transit system and the bi-county health district.
What are Franklin’s reasons?
In the most recent letter from the superior court bench Presiding Judge Jacqueline Stam lays out some of the reasons Franklin County gave for the split.
Franklin County pointed to the risk of sexual abuse danger to youth in detention because of allegations stemming from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as a $700,000 increase in risk and liability insurance due to those claims.
They also told the court that the move would result in a substantial cost savings to the county, but Stam said in the letter that they still did not have sufficient information to determine how they were saving $2.4 million just sending the offenders to another facility.
Franklin County is also claiming the bi-county judicial court and detention does not have the statutory legal authority to operate and that the agreements reached between the counties “are void because they are overreaching.”
Preparing for a legal battle
Benton County is now preparing to file a lawsuit to force Franklin County to make good on its commitment for at least long enough to negotiate an orderly separation.
The agreement, which Benton County reviewed just last month, was signed in 2023 and included costs for a $20 million renovation of the Benton County juvenile services courts and facilities. It’s unclear whether the contract dispute will halt the construction project.
Over the 10-year period of the contract, Franklin would have paid about $7 million of that total. It also requires a 12-month notice to quit the agreement.
“We put a substantial investment in that property, and we wanted to ensure we had an agreement that was there for a long term,” Rasmussen said.
“We still haven’t received any communication from Franklin County on whether they want to honor that agreement,” he said. “It’s becoming clear to us that they don’t want to honor that agreement.”
The board was told that Franklin County also failed to make its December juvenile services payment.
Commissioner Jerome Delvin told Rasmussen they needed to file an injunction as soon as possible.
“If they want to get out of it, I’m willing to negotiate that, but you’re putting employees at risk, putting collective bargaining at risk, as a county we need time to negotiate,” Delvin said. “I just can’t believe that, well I can believe that they’re this irresponsible to move down the path with just one letter to the Superior Court.”
Benton County is looking at two options for an injunction, claiming Franklin County has either breached its contract or is actively making plans to.
The injunction, if approved, would stop Franklin County from negotiating with or entering into a contract with Martin Hall until it has met the obligation in the current contract with Benton County.
Benton leaders caught off guard
“Who’s running the ship over there? The inmates in the asylum?” Delvin asked.
Commissioner Michael Alvarez said that while he would prefer to do the right thing for the Tri-Cities area, his primary responsibility is to Benton County taxpayers.
Alvarez said he’s always gotten along with the commissioners in Franklin County, and doesn’t want to see their residents impacted by bad financial decisions or policies.
“It’s just flat out wrong. It’s not the right way to do business or collaborate with anyone,” Alvarez said. “We need to go ahead and hold their feet to the fire to make sure it’s done correctly.”
Commissioner Will McKay said he stills hopes they can work something out with Franklin County, because it’s the most cost-effective option for everyone.
The commissioners voted unanimously to have staff prepare legal documents to file an injunction. They plan to vote on the matter at a specially-called meeting on Friday.
What is Martin Hall?
Martin Hall currently serves 10 Washington counties: Adams, Asotin, Douglas, Ferry, Grant, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens and Whitman.
Dansel would have worked with Martin Hall during his time as a Ferry County commissioner.
The maximum security facility has a 63 bed capacity, according to the Washington state Auditor’s Office.
Despite serving virtually all of northeast Washington, that’s not much larger than the Benton County Juvenile Center currently is at 42 beds.
Educational services are handled through the Martin Hall Detention Center School, which is overseen by Northeast Washington Educational Services District 101.
This story was originally published December 16, 2025 at 4:14 PM.
