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City of Tukwila <br />Allan Ekberg, Mayor <br />INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Mayor Ekberg <br />Finance Committee <br />FROM: David Cline, City Administrator <br />BY: Cheryl Thompson, Executive Assistant <br />DATE: October 19, 2020 <br />SUBJECT: Contract for Public Defense Services <br />ISSUE <br />The current contract for public defender services provided by Kirshenbaum & Goss expires <br />December 31, 2020. Attached is a proposed contract for 2021-2022. <br />BACKGROUND <br />The City of Tukwila contracts for public defense services providing legal representation for <br />indigent criminal defendants who qualify for appointment of counsel from the time of <br />screening for eligibility through trial, sentencing and appeals to the superior court, if <br />necessary. <br />DISCUSSION <br />As Council may recall, Public Defense Standards were adopted by the Washington State <br />Supreme Court effective January 1, 2015. These standards delineate the number of cases <br />each attorney can handle per year and mandates that compensation include administrative <br />and training costs. In addition to the new Public Defense Standards the federal court <br />decision, Wilbur v. Mt. Vernon also mandates significant changes to public defense programs. <br />In 2019-2020 we paid a flat rate of $30,600 per month for public defense services to maintain a <br />Public Defense Program that fully complies with these requirements. Case filings, and <br />therefore case assignments, have been declining since 2016. As caseloads continue to decline <br />and in conjunction with the City's efforts to reduce 2021-2022 budget expenditures the <br />proposed contract is $29,100 per month with $27,600 per month being paid from the general <br />fund and $1,500 per month from the Office of Public Defense (OPD) grant funds. Thus, the <br />overall reduction in general fund expenditures is $3,000 per month. <br />Per the terms of the OPD grant agreement, funds may not be used to supplant City funds but <br />may be used to supplement City funds for services not previously provided. Due to the <br />pandemic, the public defense attorneys have had to modify how they conduct business. <br />Exhibit A Sections 12 and 13 delineate additional services the attorneys will provide: <br />25 <br />