HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution BOCC Staff Report Amend Drug Fund ResolutionKITTITAS COUNTY
Board of County Commissioners
AGENDA STAFF REPORT
AGENDA DATE: December 17, 2018
ACTION REQUESTED: Consider approval of a Resolution Amending the
Cumulative Reserve Fund for Drug Enforcement Activities.
BACKGROUND: The Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD)
responded to law enforcement’s request to impose a health
order on a property believed to be operating as a
clandestine drug lab, which invoked legal requirements
under Chapter 64.44 RCW. KCPHD complied with those
legal requirements including arranging for a sampling of
the property by a Washington State Department of Health
certified agency, ACCUMETH. ACCUMETH determined
that the drug residue contaminating the property does not
surpass the threshold amount requiring decontamination
under the law. As a result, KCPHD has rescinded the
health order. Although, the financial responsibility for
testing the property through a proper sampling and the
health order enforcements costs are the financial
responsibility of the property owner, KCPHD has been
unsuccessful at compelling the owner to pay; she is
currently incarcerated in California.
The Kittitas County Prosecutor’s Office reviewed the
current Resolution for the Cumulative Reserve Fund for
Drug Enforcement Activities to see whether KCPHD was
authorized to utilize those funds to pay for the sampling
and the health order enforcement costs and concluded that
the current version does not contemplate KCPHD an
authorized entity.
While reviewing the resolution it was also discovered that
the legal authority cited for the fund is out of date.
The amended version proposed here has the updated
statutory citations necessary for legal compliance and also
contains a provision that would allow KCPHD an
opportunity to petition the Board of County
Commissioners, on a case by case basis, for permission to
access to the fund in the limited circumstances where
Chapter 64.44 RCW has been invoked, a notably rare
occurrence for this County.
The local law enforcement agencies and elected prosecutor
have been informed of this request so that they may have
an opportunity to oppose or support it as they see fit.
INTERACTION: The Prosecutor’s office was directed to draft the attached
resolution.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve the resolution as attached.
ATTACHMENT: Resolution Amending the Cumulative Reserve Fund for
Drug Enforcement Activities.
LEAD STAFF: Stephanie Hartung, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney