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Criminal Justice Services
The City of Port Angeles is working with Clallam County and partners to finalize a new interlocal agreement for the provision of criminal justice services. As part of this work, the City is analyzing the cost of providing these services to ensure any new agreement is fair and affordable for our community.
Background
In 2015, the City of Port Angeles and Clallam County entered into an interlocal agreement that consolidated criminal justice services. Since then, the City has paid the County a fixed monthly fee for these services, which include:
- Prosecution,
- Indigent Defense,
- Court, and
- Incarceration Services.
With the contract set to expire on December 31, 2025, City staff worked with Clallam County over the last year to obtain data and metrics to inform negotiations of a new interlocal agreement. This process included gathering, reviewing and calculating years of data to accurately determine the costs of providing these services for each entity, to ensure a fair and equitable approach is taken, and that it is affordable to our community.
Due to the large amount of information to analyze and strong differences of opinion of the County’s estimated costs, it was determined that additional time was needed to reach a final agreement between the parties.
To prevent a gap in critical services, the City and County negotiated a six-month extension to the original agreement. This extension is set to expire on June 30, 2026, and retains all services included in the original agreement.
City staff continue to work with the County and criminal justice partners to ensure the continuation of services for the rest of 2026 and beyond.
The City’s goal is to establish a new, long-term interlocal agreement for criminal justice services that is equitable and affordable to the residents of residents.
Next Steps
On February 3, 2026, City Council authorized the City Manager to contract for criminal justice consultant services in an amount not to exceed $75,000. Once hired, the consultant will perform an independent analysis of the cost estimates provided by Clallam County, and also assist the City in the exploration of other delivery models for criminal justice services.
- What kinds of criminal justice services are the County and City required to provide?
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As a general rule, counties in Washington State are responsible for providing criminal justice services for felony, gross misdemeanor, and misdemeanor offenses within their boundaries.
Cities must provide criminal just services for misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor offenses committed inside city limits through the use of their own courts, staff and facilities—or—by entering into contracts or interlocal agreements.
- Why is the contract being renegotiated?
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The original interlocal agreement for criminal justice services was established in 2015 for a period of 10 years. It expired on December 31, 2025. Over the intervening ten years, the laws and the circumstances to affect the provision of these services have changed, and a new contract must account for those changes.
- Does this mean criminal justice services are not currently being provided?
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No. To prevent a gap in critical services, the City and County negotiated a six-month extension to the original agreement. This extension is set to expire on June 30, 2026.
- What did the City pay previously for criminal justice services?
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In 2015, the City paid $800,000 to the County for the 2016 years of services. In 2025, the City paid $1,129,251 to the County for the full year of services.
As agreed upon in the original contract, the City paid an annual cost increase for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-W Index, and this is why the amount has increased over time. Over the last ten years, costs to the City have increased 41.2%.
- Why do the parties disagree on the cost increase?
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The County has proposed a $2.5 million annual cost increase to the City, for a total cost of $3,666,950 million in 2026.
The City has requested financial information from the County that demonstrates the County’s fixed costs and provides rationale for a $2.5 million (or 225%) per year increase. To date, the information provided to the City is incomplete.
- How is the City of Port Angeles protecting its taxpayers?
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The City is hiring an independent consultant to analyze the cost to perform these services in Port Angeles. This work helps to ensure that Port Angeles residents do not pay more than their fair share for criminal justice services in the future.
- How can I stay up to date on this project?
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Visit the project page for updates.