Contract approved: Snohomish County Jail to take Seattle inmates

EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council on Monday approved a contract for the county jail to house inmates from Seattle. The contract includes changes recommended by Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson.

The mayor made clear last week that he was worried about the jail potentially releasing Seattle inmates in downtown Everett, compounding the city’s ongoing struggle with homelessness.

At the same time, the contract means an estimated $3 million in annual revenue for the sheriff’s office, which runs the jail. The sheriff’s office has come in nearly $2 million over budget for 2015, most of it related to corrections and labor costs, some of which were unanticipated. The County Council on Monday agreed to cover the gap from reserves within the general fund.

Under the new jail contract with Seattle, the county will host inmates serving time for misdemeanor convictions. That rules out inmates facing felony charges and those with pending court cases.

The county’s motion approved Monday says: “The sheriff’s office has taken steps to lessen the likelihood that contract inmates will end up homeless within Snohomish County.”

The sheriff agreed to “take all legal measures necessary” to return Seattle inmates to Seattle, and to meet with Everett leaders in 90 days to review how it’s going. Earlier plans called for the county to make up to five trips to Seattle each week returning released prisoners, and if that didn’t work, some inmates would be given bus vouchers.

After 90 days, the county and the city of Everett plan to prepare a formal agreement on release practices.

Stephanson attended the County Council meeting and spoke in support of that added language, some of which came from the city’s Streets Initiatives Task Force.

“We wanted something clearer,” city spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said Monday.

Returning inmates to their city of arrest is “critically important to this community,” Stephanson said in a prepared statement.

The jail and its booking policies have been a touchy subject in Everett, where Sheriff Ty Trenary has led a number of corrections reforms in recent years after overcrowding and insufficient medical care contributed to multiple inmate deaths.

Trenary also has pushed back against the long-standing police practice of using the jail to warehouse people living with mental illness and addiction. Under the new contract, the jail will reject Seattle inmates with expensive, high-liability issues, including those having withdrawals from drugs or alcohol.

As for the sheriff’s budget, many of the costs were anticipated but not funded, spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. The biggest piece of the nearly $2 million was about half a million dollars in benefits for corrections officers and $408,000 for overtime payments ordered in a 2011 labor settlement. The settlement dealt with how shift changes were covered and compensated, Ireton said.

Most of the rest of the sum was related to overtime, labor contracts and “separation payouts” for retirements and resignations. “This is not an over-expenditure,” Ireton said Monday. “These are items we were required to pay but were not funded.”

Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.