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Council to consider higher-cost prosecution and public-defense contracts as local legal expenses rise

Mountlake Terrace City Council · December 12, 2025

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Summary

Staff presented proposed contracts for city prosecution (first year $204,000) and public defense (proposed $40,000/month), noting that caseload changes and new standards have driven costs up sharply and that both agreements are set for the Dec. 18 consent agenda.

City staff told the council they will place two professional‑services agreements on the consent agenda next week: a proposed contract with Zacher, Stock and Kreps for prosecution services and a two‑year public‑defense contract with Feldman and Lee.

Staff said the prosecutor contract is proposed for Jan.–Dec. 2026 at $204,000 with a 2027 level of $216,000 and an option to extend into 2028 and 2029 with 4% annual increases. The public‑defense contract was described as a two‑year agreement (no automatic extension included in this iteration) at $40,000 per month — roughly $480,000 annually — driven by caseload‑standard changes implemented by the state supreme court earlier this year.

Staff framed the public‑defense figure in context: the city paid about $18,500 per month for prosecution services in 2023, $26,500 per month last year, and is now proposing a $40,000-per-month public‑defense contract in 2026. Staff and council discussed the rough per‑case cost estimate: with an historical case volume around 502 cases, staff noted the per‑case cost implied by the proposed contract is on the order of $10,000 per case.

Council asked about contract exit provisions (staff said both contracts include a 90‑day notice period), screening criteria to confirm indigent-status eligibility, repeat users of public‑defender services, juvenile-case handling and the opportunity for South County cities to collaborate on staffing to realize economies of scale.

Next steps: staff recommended placing both recommended agreements on the Dec. 18 consent agenda; the council will have the opportunity to approve or pull the items for separate consideration.