HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-05-30-minutes-county-prosecutors-civil-team-discussion05/30/2023 MINUTES 1
COMMISSIONERS' MINUTES
KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
AUDITORIUM
SPECIAL MEETING
MONDAY 10:00 A.M. MAY 30, 2023
Board members present: Chairman Cory Wright; Vice-Chairman Brett
Wachsmith and Commissioner Laura Osiadacz.
Others: Julie Kjorsvik, Clerk of the Board; Doug Mitchell, Deputy
Prosecutor III; Chris Horner, Deputy Prosecutor III; Neil Caulkins,
Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor; Stephanie Hartung, Deputy Prosecutor
III; and Greg Zempel, Prosecutor.
SPECIAL MEETING PROSECUTOR CIVIL TEAM COMMISSIONERS
Chairman Wright opened a Special Meeting with the Prosecutor and his
Civil team to discuss ways to better communicate, collaborate, and
determine what the Board’s needs, wants, and expectations are. He
said the Board understands how the Prosecutors are being pulled in
all different directions and acknowledges how it can be a challenge.
The Board asked what a process would look like to be able to have
the Prosecutors office check in and stay on top of issues.
Greg Zempel, Prosecutor, explained how it’s easier to work with
Department Heads individually than the Board due to the OPMA
requirements for discussing County business. For example, the
Commissioners cannot all be included in CAMAS service requests but
rather only one to ensure there’s no communication going on between
them. He asked the Commissioners to involve their office from the
beginning of projects, instead of being asked for assistance in the
middle of something. He said they would like to be more proactive
but would also like to know where the Board wants to go in the next
6-12 months so they can all be on the same page.
There was a suggestion to have a quarterly Executive Sessions
relating to litigation matters. Neil Caulkins, Chief Civil Deputy,
explained how he sits in various meetings with the Board, as well as
he meets individually with Department Heads.
Chairman Wright said the Board understands how the Prosecutor’s time
is valuable, and communication is extremely important. He asked what
they should do if there’s an urgent matter that comes up. Mr. Zempel
encouraged the Board to reach out to the Legal Assistants by either
email and/or phone if they can’t get ahold of the Prosecutor
assigned to them, they can triage the issue and give them
information on the next steps. He reiterated how important it was to
get their office involved early on so they can plan and allocate
time so it’s more productive for everyone.
05/30/2023 MINUTES 2
The action plan at the end of the meeting was to establish a Study
Session between the Commissioners and the Prosecutor’s office to
provide monthly updates on litigation, risk management, as well as
other issues to assist everyone in being more proactive and
collaborative.
The meeting was concluded at 11:05 a.m.
CLERK OF THE BOARD KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Julie Kjorsvik Cory Wright, Chairman