PORT ANGELES — Clallam County will take a second look at how it provides legal representation in collective bargaining and other employment-related matters.
Commissioners on Monday directed staff to negotiate a five-month contract extension with Bullard Law to bide time for a re-examination of a long-standing pact for human resources legal services.
Clallam County’s one-year contract with Bullard Law expires Aug. 1.
The Portland, Ore., firm has represented the human resources department for about 30 years, Human Resources Director Rich Sill told commissioners Monday.
“What I’m interested in is some alternatives so that we can put three or four on the table and have a discussion about the pluses and minuses of each,” Commissioner Mark Ozias said in a nearly three-hour work session.
“Is it worth saving money here, or are we losing institutional knowledge, or is it worth changing the paradigm? But we can’t have that [discussion] unless we have some alteratives.”
Request for proposals
Commissioners are expected to issue a request for proposals for human resources legal services next month.
“We haven’t done that in my time here,” said Board Chairman Mike Chapman, a 16th-year commissioner who is running for state representative in November.
“We have continually rolled over the contract.”
Chapman said he envisioned a public process similar to the recent selection of a county hearing examiner.
In that example, commissioners issued a request for proposals and assembled an ad hoc committee to review the qualifications of the applicants.
Andrew Reeves of Sound Law Center was chosen over three other candidates for hearing examiner May 31.
Commissioners will consider approving a contract with Reeves’ firm today.
“I think the board was really pleased with how the process went with the hearing examiner, and I think the public was pleased with the decision we reached,” Chapman said.
“And now we’re contemplating going through a similar process.”
Special attorney
The selected attorney for human resources will likely be appointed as a special deputy prosecuting attorney.
Clallam County is paying Akin Blitz, a Bullard Law labor attorney, $345 per hour under the soon-to-expire contract.
Prior contracts with Bullard Law were four years in length.
Sill said the human resources department has saved a “tremendous amount of money” this year by bringing legal support such as investigations and clerical work in-house.
The department as a whole has spent 18 percent of its budgeted amount for the year, Sill said.
“This year is an off year in terms of [labor] negotiations,” Sill added.
“Next year, we’re going back into negotiations again. That will be for the next four-year contract involving eight bargaining units.”
Legal defense
In other discussion from the work session, commissioners agreed to form a seven-member committee to help them determine the best way to provide legal defense to criminal defendants who can’t afford to hire their own lawyer.
Commissioners signed a one-year contract extension with Clallam Public Defender last December.
An ad hoc committee will recommend a structure for the public defense delivery system in 2017 and beyond. It will not make a recommendation on the contractor.
Four basic options for public defense are keeping the current system with one contractor providing public defense in all courts, bidding separately for district court, establishing a public defense ombudsman and establishing a new county department.
The ad hoc panel could also recommend another option.
Those who volunteered to serve on the committee are:
■ Steve Robins, senior attorney for the Northwest Justice Project.
■ Heidi Greenwood, a senior assistant city attorney for the city of Port Angeles.
■ Craig Ritchie, recently-retired Sequim city attorney and former Clallam County prosecuting attorney.
■ Danetta Rutten, retired lead juvenile probation officer.
■ Preston Kayes, retired drug court coordinator.
■ Carol Mortensen, family law attorney.
■ John Troberg, part-time Clallam County deputy prosecuting attorney and a former public defender.
“All of the applicants meet the court-system experience guidelines we asked for,” County Administrator Jim Jones said.
Commissioners will consider a resolution forming the committee July 12.
“This is a good group,” Chapman said.
Chapman thanked Kayes, the county’s first drug court coordinator, for his participation.
“This is one of the many things where we’re trying to take a fresh look at something that we haven’t taken a fresh look at for a long time,” Ozias told Kayes.
“I really appreciate your engagement and the engagement of the other volunteers. It’s really helpful to me, certainly, and I believe the rest of the board, to have the assistance of others in helping us understand what our alternatives might look like.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
