Bi-county breakup gets messier. Tri-Cities judges demand a say
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Benton and Franklin ending agreement to house inmates with security concerns
- Many bi-county agreements have been terminated or not renewed by one or both counties.
- Some splits led to lawsuits, mediation; others moved to new providers, standalone agencies
The Benton Franklin Superior Court judges are stepping into a lawsuit between the two counties over the future of juvenile services.
Franklin County abruptly moved in December to pull out of its juvenile services partnership with Benton County over the objection of the judges, opting to send inmates to a much cheaper facility in Medical Lake.
They approved the contracts with Martin Hall despite several letters from Presiding Judge Jacqueline Stam ordering them to pause the move and negotiate with Benton County.
Stam also ordered Franklin County to return about $2.5 million in funding to its juvenile services budget. That led to a lawsuit between the counties, which is now in mediation.
Franklin County leaders argued last week that the Superior Court does not have the right to dictate their spending.
Monday, the judges sent another letter, Benton County Commissioner Michael Alvarez said during the county’s weekly meeting.
Alvarez said that while most residents know the counties share a juvenile detention center, they might not realize that the counties also split the cost of the courts.
The judges demanded to be involved in any negotiations in the lawsuit, and the counties need to split the cost of the attorneys representing the judges.
Benton County’s commissioners approved their end of the 50-50 split, with Alvarez noting that he hoped Franklin County would do the same at its meeting Wednesday.
Benton commissioners also voted Tuesday to dissolve another long-running agreement as the relationship between the counties continues to unravel.
The counties will end their mutual jail use agreement in 90 days.
The agenda item stated that “Due to ongoing issues with Franklin County, Benton County no longer feels it is in our interest to continue this partnership.”
Mutual jail use
The agreement allows the counties to house inmates who may have safety and security concerns at each other’s jail at no cost.
It’s most often used when the inmate is a corrections officer, police officer or has conflicts, such as gang activity, with other inmates in the facility.
Benton County Deputy Administrator Matt Rasmussen told the Tri-City Herald that it’s used a handful of times each year.
For example, former Benton County corrections officer Kevin L. Bell is the only inmate currently being jailed under the agreement. He is awaiting sentencing on a felony charge of second-degree custodial sexual misconduct.
Both counties will shift their reciprocal agreements to Walla Walla County.
Rasmussen said that change could work out better because there is often an overlap in inmates, which can make it difficult to safely house all them.
“It puts a little more distance,” Rasmussen told commissioners Tuesday. “The inmates in our facility often end up in Franklin County’s and vice versa, just due to the nature of crime in the Tri-Cities.”
Bi-county breakup
Nearly every bi-county agreement has been terminated or discontinued over the past year.
Franklin County ended its part in Human Services last fall, which included veterans services, developmental disability and homelessness programs. They’ve since hired a veterans service officer and negotiated a more orderly separation of the other services. The split will be official in July.
Benton County leaders reviewed other bi-county agreements in November and chose to not renew contracts for:
• Equipment sharing for roadworks projects.
• Autopsy and morgue space sharing. Franklin recently finished construction of its own coroner’s facility, but there is still an agreement in place for shared use of medical examiners.
• Economic Recovery Coordination for pandemic-related ARPA funding.
• Veterans court due to lack of use after Franklin County District Court launched a recovery courts program.
The few remaining partnerships are largely for agencies such as the Benton Franklin Health District with strict rules.
Franklin County leaders have brought up the idea of exiting both the health district and the Ben Franklin Transit district, but have not taken any formal action.
The Behavioral Health Advisory Committee is still bi-county, though Franklin County has paused the second half of a payment for improvements at the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery.
Aside from initially agreeing to help fund operations using their mental health sales tax, Franklin County is not a voting member of the committee.
Last month, Benton County voted to move forward with a path that would allow Franklin County to enter its own agreement with Comprehensive Healthcare for use of the facility, but would not make them a full partner.
The Benton Franklin Superior Court cannot be separated without the Washington Legislature’s approval, and the Ben Franklin Transit District is a standalone agency that collects its own sales tax.
SECOMM, which runs 911 emergency communications for the region, is also in the process of becoming its own standalone agency.
There also are some regional policing agreements that both counties are party to, along with the cities in the area, such as the Metro Drug Taskforce.
