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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/03/1989 Adjourned Meeting • 279 OCTOBER 3, 1989 0 ADJOURNED MEETING DEVELOPMENT OF REQUEST FOR JOINT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MINIMUM SECURITY JAIL FACILITY FUNDING FOR YAKIMA COUNTY On October 3, 1989, the City Council and County Commissioners met at 12:00 noon at the County Courthouse to discuss the development of a request for a Joint Law Enforcement and Minimum Security Jail Facility Funding for Yakima County. Council members present were Mayor Pat Berndt, Henry Beauchamp, Lynn Carmichael and Bernard Sims. Council member Lynn Buchanan present at 1:00 P.M. Council member Clarence Barnett and Jerry Foy absent and excused. City Staff present included City Manager Zais, City Attorney Vanek, Assistant City Manager Stouder, Police Chief Green, Captain Follansbee and Deputy City Clerk Toney. • County Commissioners present were Chuck Klarich and Graham Tollefson; Commissioner Alex Deccio absent and excused. Other County officials and staff members present included County Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan, Undersheriff Mike Gill, Director of Planning /Special Projects, Richard Anderwald, and Deputy Clerk Sylvia Hinojosa. Washington State Legislators present were Senator Jim Matson, • Representative Shirley Doty and Representative Jay Inslee. Commissioner Tollefson welcomed the State Legislators, explaining that the intent of this meeting is to provide' them with background information about the law enforcement needs and try to determine how those needs can be met. Mayor Berndt also welcomed the State Legislators, stating the time has come to get together and find out what areas we have in common so we can begin working on our program. Mayor Berndt stated Representative Doty has made a request for $3,000,000 for law enforcement needs and will be commenting about this during the meeting. Commissioner Tollefson stated City Manager Zais has been involved in this issue on behalf of the City, while the Director of Planning /Special Projects Anderwald has been involved on behalf of the County. Conuuissioner Tollefson stated the City has provided preliminary documentation of the need for a capital facility, while the County has emphasized the need for operational costs and other capital needs. Couuuissioner Tollefson asked Commissioner Klarich to review the informational packet from the Washington State Association of Counties regarding law and justice needs. Commissioner Klarich prefaced his comments, stating that the Association of County Officials has agreed to the approach set forth in this package and no other legislation will be forthcoming other than the consolidated City /County effort. He stated the reason for that is because around 70% of all County budgets are comprised of law and justice financing needs. Commissioner Klarich stated the Association of Washington Counties meets on a monthly basis with the Association of Washington Cities, however, one of the problems they have with the Association of Washington Cities is that their program is more wide spread than just law and justice needs because the City budgets an average of 20-25% for police protection. He stated for that reason, there has been a little difficulty in coming together in a consolidated effort. He said it has been the attempt of the Association of Washington Counties to put together a package that will provide more aid for counties because of the percentage of °their budget that must be spent for operational costs. However, he added that it will also aid Cities in terms of fighting law and justice issues. Commissioner Klarich stated the information in the packet indicates an increase in domestic violence and civil harassment filings since. the law was passed in 1984 regarding these issues. He stated the increase in these filings has placed a tremendous burden on the prosecutors and the court system. He also commented that in 1980 all felony filings were tried by a jury trial, but in 1988 half of the cases were plea bargained and did not go to trial due to an insufficient number of personnel to process the case load. CoMnissioner Klarich stated in 1989, records indicate that 1,047 inmates had to sleep on the floor, while state prisons had bed space available. 280 OCTOBER 3, 1989 Commissioner Klarich referred to the chart illustrating the difference in the revenue growth for state versus the counties and cities, commenting that the City and County revenues remain level while the State's revenue continue upward in the neighborhood of one -half to a billion dollars each year. He stated that the State will have 400 million dollars in surplus revenue beyond what had been budgeted. Commissioner Klarich explained that the County is asking the State of Washington and State Legislators to join in the fight against crime by allocating funds for this need. He indicated that legislation allowing criminals to be locked up does not benefit the City or County without the funding to process them through the judicial system. The State is being asked to pay for the Public Defender System, the judges' salaries, the prosecution of criminals, and funds are being requested to build regional facilities to house offenders. Commissioner Klarich indicated unless financial help is received from the State, more criminals will be on the streets, more plea bargaining will take place, and fewer arrests will be made. He stated there will be a meeting on October 9th at 8:30 A.M. in the Commissioners Hearing Roan and encouraged those present to invite others to attend that meeting. County Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan commented that he believes everyone is aware of the mandates from the State mentioned by Commissioner Klarich, however, there are no local resources to address these issues. He indicated that the State pays half of the Superior Court Judges' salaries, half of his salary, $40,000 is paid directly for one deputy for drug prosecution, and that is the sum total of the direct payment by the State to address this problem. Prosecutor Sullivan explained that the State provided more money for law enforcement through the Omnibus Bill, however, those funds are basically for State Investigators who in turn will generate more cases, deliver those cases to the County Prosecutor to process, deliver the prisoners to an already overcrowded County Jail and expect the County to handle it. He said from the legislative standpoint, the time has come to either quit passing the laws and raising the publics expectations that this is going to result in safer streets and communities, and say that there is no money for this and we are going to sacrifice on the side of having unsafe streets because we can't provide it. He said it is not right to expect the Counties and the Cities to implement and enforce the laws when there is no capacity to do so. Mr. Sullivan stated, if we can't get help, we are going to have to figure out some dramatic solutions. He stated that the hiring of ten more police officers by the City of Yakima does not do any good when the individuals arrested cannot be processed through the judicial system. Mr. Sullivan stressed that it is time to tell the story like it is rather than raising expectations that something can be done about the situation. He referred to the Committee for Safer Streets that has proposed a civil commitment law and placing mutilators in jail for 100 years. Mr. Sullivan explained that the civil commitment falls to the prosecutor to enforce, to a secure hospital in which to place the offenders, to the public defender system to defend them, and to the Superior Court to adjudicate them. He further explained that there are currently no secure hospitals in which to place the 200 -300 people in the State of Washington that have been identified for prosecution and placement. Mr. Sullivan stated nothing has been done to address those issues, and he believes it is time to inform the public of this predicament. City Manager Zais read a portion of an article from the Wall Street Journal which states "the battle against drugs is the chief issue facing the nation." The article further indicated that 63% of Americans are now willing to raise taxes to finance the drug battle. Mr. Zais stated we are at a point where we no longer have the financial resources to deal with the problems on a capital /operation basis and the State and Federal Government need to assist us. He stated it is commonly understood that Yakima is a pipeline for drug distribution and it is time for the City and County to aggressively pursue the proposed package of funding options for a capital facility and operation and maintenance support. Mr. Zais stated we think. Yakima deserves a much greater share of the State's resources and that is an advocacy position taken by the Eastern Washington Cities in voting on a package to submit to the Legislature that would support the creation of a State targeted fiscal assistance program for Eastern Washington Cities, especially those that are economically disadvantaged or distressed, and those that face the extraordinary impact of drug trafficking as Yakima County does. He stated this package contemplates advancing this message further with the proposal of a Drug OCTOBER 3, 1989 . 2 8 1 ADJOURNEDMEETING • Summit Meeting that would bring together .a group to include representatives from the Governor's office, our Senator's offices, Congressman Morrison's office, the leadership of the House and Senate and other State Senators and Representatives from Yakima County. Chief Green commented about the specifics of the package, stating, essentially the Police Department expanded upon the request put together last year to the State Legislature for funding of a joint law enforcement facility and a 300 bed minimum /medium security facility. Chief Green stated he agrees with the comments made by Commissioner Klarich and Prosecutor Sullivan about the inadequate funding for the entire criminal justice system, and the frustration of 'the citizens and officers. He stressed that something has to be done about the critical part of this criminal justice bottleneck, i.e. the lack of adequate facilities. He stated, "we do not have an alternative; the system is broken and it needs to be fixed." Chief Green indicated that law enforcement officers know approximately 60-70% of the people arrested for drugs and other crimes on a first name basis because they have been arrested so many times and released after serving a minimum time in jail due to the lack of space. He stated offenders with a local address are released unless they have been involved in a homicide. Crimes are committed repeatedly because there is no way to incapacitate them and take them off the streets. Chief Green stated in 1977 when the City operated a jail facility there were 1/3 of the crimes reported that we have today, with an average of 72 inmates per day, just on City misdemeanor offenses. He added that today we are averaging about 38 -40 people in the County jail and three times the reported crime rate as that in 1977. Chief Green restated the need for a joint facility issue and a minimum security issue, as well as the need for a commitment for funding. • Commissioner Klarich emphasized the importance'of the need for funding for the processing of the offenders through the judicial system. Prosecutor Sullivan stated the judges have taken a bad rap over the past . ten years due to the sentencing guidelines that were changed in 1977. He pointed out that the system does nothing to offenders until they are at least 13 years old, and the adult system does not operate until they are 18 years old. Mr. Sullivan further explained that an offender is not subject to a _prison term until the sixth felony conviction occurs. He added that the prison term is twelve to fourteen months with a third off for good behavior. He stated is it possible that an offender will spend eight months in prison after having been convicted of six felonies. Mr. Sullivan said that most cases are plea bargained rather than tried by jury because of insufficient personnel to process the cases. He stated we all need to keep in mind that there is a need for fundamental changes to occur in our society before this problem can be solved. Commissioner Tollefson reiterated that the two primary goals today are: 1) seek out the unification of our local agenda so that we might later approach our own Legislators as well as Federal Legislators, and 2). prepare the necessary documentation to make sure the Legislature, and others, understand the nature of the local problem. He said this is going to involve more work on our part, particularly on the operational side. Commissioner Klarich asked Senator Matson what needs to be done to meld the City and County needs into one program so we can, better appeal to the Legislators? Senator Matson stated the one thing that must be done is to make sure the Association is totally aware that the drug problem is not over. He said a lot of Legislators think the drug problem was taken care of with the passage of the Omnibus Bill. He stated the 400 million dollars that Mr. Zais is so covetous of has already been spent on branch campuses. Senator Matson commented, "someone in the State has a place for every nickle of that excess, and, unfortunately, it does not include Yakima." He said "unless the federal government is capable of decreasing the supply and /or the demand ,of the drugs, there is no way in the world that enough jails can be built, enough; law enforcement officers, prosecutors and judges hired to solve the problem." Senator Matson stated, "if we are not successful as a nation in working .together on this problem, we are lost." Regarding the criticism of the Omnibus Bill, he commented that it is his recollection that both, the Prosecutor's Association and the Law & Justice Association, supported that Bill prior to its passage. He 2 8 2 OCTOBER 3, 1989 ADJOURNED MEETING agreed that it is not a solution, but it is a step in the right direction. Commissioner Tollefson pointed out that it has been over ten years since indigent defense was mandated, however, no funding was ever allocated for that service. He stated it is important that State Legislators realize that Cities and Counties cannot absorb any more State mandates; funding must accompany them. City Manager Zais commented that the Cities and Counties rely upon, and work with the Associations, but every City and County in the State has its own special interest legislation. Mr. Zais stated he is not sure that full support will be forthcoming from all of the Cities and Counties because there are differences of opinions that have existed for many years, but the City of Yakima is working in that direction. He stated we are not dependent upon the Associations to carry the message for us; we can take a strong aggressive stance, push hard and tell a strong story of what is happening here. Mr. Zais stated we should be at the forefront of that action. He added that the Representatives and Senators here today can help to communicate the message that Yakima is a pipeline; we are appearing in the national news, magazine articles and local and national television due to the drug problem. Senator Matson agreed with Mr. Zais, but added that from the practical standpoint, if Yakima is going to get any kind of assistance, votes are needed from Snohomish and Clark County. He said, "without that support, you may as well forget it." Representative Doty stated she feels very strongly about what Mr. Zais has said, but at the same time, it is really critical to work very hard to make the City and County Associations answerable to you. She said that is where the issue has become bogged down before, adding that other Legislators are looking at their special interest also. Representative Doty stated before she knew about this effort she asked for a special consideration of appropriations for Yakima County in the amount of $3,000,000 because she knew of the day to day expenses. Representative Doty stated we are looking at a capital expenditure and that requires broad base support, and at the same time, we are also looking an immense need for operational expenses for the processing of offenders. Mrs. Doty stated she believes there has been an increased awareness of Yakima's situation lately due the news media coverage within the state as well as nationally. Referring to the Coalition for the War on Drugs, the leadership roles of law enforcement and local government officials, she stated she believes we have in place the mechanism to really make use of additional funding. Mrs. Doty stated the case has to be represented daily to everybody we can possibly buttonhole. She indicated that more team members are needed in this effort, but she believes it can be done. Representative Doty stated she thinks the Summit Meeting is an excellent idea and the time is right to proceed with this effort. Commissioner Tollefson stated one the issues we deal with constantly is a question of equity and the source of funding. He said this is a national problem because Yakima is a supplier, not only for the State of Washington, but the entire northwest, and it is impossible to deal with this issue without some transfer of funds taking place. He reported that our per capita inane from sales tax is $19.10, while the State averages $32 and King County's averages $44. The criminal filings per thousand population for Yakima is twelve, King County's is five and Spokane's is three. He said it appears that those with the greatest revenue have the least case load. Commissioner Tollefson stated he believes the State and Federal governments have a responsibility in solving this issue. Council member Beauchamp referred to the inmate capacity, commenting that many of the cities we need to support us in our effort are suffering from the same kind of problems. He stated we need to find a way to fund the processing of offenders and the facility needs as well. Commissioner Klarich commented that the City of Seattle is proposing that 100 additional police officers be hired, but °King County Council is opposing this because the financial resources and jail space is not available to process the offenders that those additional officers would generate. OCTOBER 3,.,1989 2 8 3 ADJOURNEDMEETING • Commissioner Tollefson stated any assistance the Representatives and Senators could give regarding the information needed to clarify the • problem would be appreciated. Senator Matson asked what timeframe are we talking about and Commissioner Klarich responded that on October 9th an information and media package will be presented in three different areas within the state and this effort will continue until October 20th. He stated a presentation will be given at every courthouse defining how we are going to approach putting justice back into the criminal justice system. He said, at that time, meetings will be held with each County and City to provide local statistics to assist in this effort. Commissioner Klarich said it is hoped that there will be a weekly item, state -wide in November and December, and following through every week of the session illustrating the . need we have. • City Manager Zais said he thinks that, basically, we need an appropriation out of this next session, whether it is on a Federal or State level, this is now the priority; it has been unaddressed too long. Referring to the 400,000 million dollar surplus, Representative Jay Inslee stated there is a temptation to look at this as a "one shot fix" and he is hopeful that when the plan reaches its fruition, it will be looked at as a long term issue. He stated he thinks there is a real temptation to say, "Let's spin off a few dollars out of this year's surplus to Yakima County and then we won't have to worry about it the rest of next year." Mr. Inslee stated this is the political time for the local governments to get well, or as well as possible, and encouraged the City Council members and County Commissioners' to look at it from a long term basis, not a simple one time appropriation. . City Manager Zais stated he agrees that the appropriation is tied to the capital budget and the capital facilities needs and every year the state makes distributions of capital appropriations. He stated last year the focus was on branch campuses and this year law and justice deserves the capital funding appropriation. He said the longer term issue is the operation and maintenance support costs, either on the basis of the County's suggestions for state assumed functions, or in new on -going legislative authority for on -going operation support grants, targeted fiscal assistance dedicated to this problem. He stated that is essential ,because local cities and counties cannot continue as they are.- Representative Doty stated she thinks a pilot program can provide some of the answers as 'to what works and .does not'work. She stated she thinks a one year program would be of value. • Senator Matson said the state capital budget is almost exclusively provided from the sale '.of bonds from the state capital bonding authority and has little or no relation to the excess revenue in the general fund. However, some of those funds were used for school levys for construction purposes. He stated he used the illustration of branch campuses because that is a long term commitment for capital and operating costs. He said there is an opportunity to slow that down, however, • because the original proposal was almost 80 million dollars and has been reduced to 45 million dollars. He stated without taking the money from other programs, or slowing other programs down, it will be almost impossible to come up with the financial needs being discussed today. Senator Matson indicated that a pilot project would be helpful. Commissioner Tollefson stated we are not quite ready to seek specific solutions today, but certainly that is something we will consider. He stated the Sheriff has been dealing with the Federal Marshall for some time regarding the building of a minimum security facility so we can exchange high security beds for low security beds to generate some • federal revenue to pay for the facility. Commissioner Tollefson stated the County's problem has always been that the County can't afford to operate the current facility, so unless funding is provided for operations, we will have to devise a sensible method of melding the two. He pointed out that the County has no local authority to ask the citizens to pay for a minimum security facility. Commissioner Tollefson said a one year levy was discussed and it was concluded that such a levy was 2 8 4 OCTOBER 3, 1989 ADJOURNED MEETING insufficient, therefore, we decided not to pursue it this year. He added that the situation is becoming so critical that the County may have to resort to that. Representative Doty asked if we would be in a better situation if we could once get a handle on the situation, through an unusually large effort or consideration, and then be in a better position two to four years later due to the disposal of some of the repeat offenders? Prosecutor Sullivan stated that is a reasonable expectation and he thinks that a change in the legislative arena in terms of sentencing will provide some relief. For example, if the residential burglary law goes into effect next year as anticipated, and unless the review turns out that the beds are not going to be available, he would suggest repealing it. Mr. Sullivan said the reality is that residential burglary and drug cases tend to be the major offenses that this group of 10% commits. He said if they can be given longer sentences we will see an impact in this regard. Mr. Sullivan agreed with Senator Matson that there are 100 good programs on which to spend the 400 million dollar surplus and he does not envy the Legislators the task of making that decision. However, he thinks there are some crises that need to be addressed and resolved. Commissioner Tollefson thanked everyone for attending today's meeting, adding it has become clear in his mind that this needs to be a City /County request before the Legislature. Commissioner Tollefson stated he realizes the importance of involving our local Legislators, as well as selling our story in a wider arena. He said while he is not as familiar with the City budget as he is with the County budget, the County is at the point of desperation. Commissioner Tollefson stated the task now is to distill and draft the City /County elements of a joint package. He said the City and County Associations will continue with their_corporate plans, and we will try to remain in concert with those as best we can, however, there are some emphasis that we will have to make. Commissioner Tollefson said we look forward to a meeting in early November with a more complete package to present to the Legislators. City Manager Zais commented that it is the intent of the City to move forward with the idea outlined in the report. There being no other comments on the subject fran any of the legislative representatives, City or County officials, the meeting adjourned at the hour of 1:35 P.M. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY � fA 1 �' � / I . A Lill I `27 -- pis Co! NC I 1 DATE , �� i / /1-7 /vY COUN L MEMBER DATE ATTEST: C t r . \l C `11 C �.� " J .� V DEPU CITY CL MAYOR 285 OCTOBER 3, 1989 STUDY SESSION A public hearing on appeal by Jefferey Tamkin, Inc. and Associates regarding the determination of significance for the development project at North 40th Avenue /Powerhouse Road and the lead agency status being the only item on the aganda, and the appeal having been withdrawn by the applicant, the Council meeting was cancelled. cUh e C -VY►c_ CITY CLERK • •