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11/30/21 MINUTES 1 <br /> <br />COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON CONFERENCE ROOM/WEBEX SPECIAL MEETING <br /> TUESDAY 9:00 A.M NOVEMBER 30, 2021 <br />Board members present: Chairman Brett Wachsmith, Vice-Chairman Laura <br />Osiadacz, and Commissioner Cory Wright. <br /> <br />Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Sarah Keith, Superior <br />Court Administrator; Barb Demory, Lower District Court <br />Administrator; Diana MacKenzie, Upper District Court Administrator; <br />and Doug Mitchell, Deputy Prosecutor. SPECIAL MEETING PUBLIC DEFENSE COURTS <br />At 9:00 a.m. Chairman Wachsmith opened a Special Meeting to discuss <br />how to move forward with Court appointed Attorney contracts. <br /> <br />Sarah Keith, Superior Court Administrator, provided an update on <br />some recent changes from the Office of Public Defense and the Courts <br />current caseloads. She said the Courts were beginning to run out of <br />attorneys who are interested in contracting for services. She <br />described one of the benefits of having a Public Defenders office is <br />that the attorneys would be employed by the County including <br />benefits. There are a few other counties who have a Public Defense <br />Office and reviewed their structure. Budget impacts would include <br />hiring approximately 4 attorneys and a couple of staff members. A <br />location for the office needs to be identified. She said they will <br />continue to receive funding as long as they are working on a plan <br />and noted they have a target date of 2024. <br /> <br />The Courts will begin working together on the next step of creating <br />a roster of individuals that will begin meeting together to study <br />funding options and it would most likely include representatives <br />from the Prosecutors office, the Courts, and a County Commissioner. <br /> <br />The Court Administrators said they would place next year’s contracts <br />for public defense services on Tuesday’s Commissioners Agenda. <br /> <br />Meeting adjourned at 9:46 a.m. KITTITAS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS CLERK OF THE BOARD KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON <br /> <br /> <br /> Julie Kjorsvik Brett Wachsmith, Chairman