Form revised December 4, 2006

FISCAL NOTE FOR NON-CAPITAL PROJECTS

Department:	Contact Person/Phone:	DOF Analyst/Phone:
OPM	Lisa Herbold/4-5331	n/a

Legislation Title: AN ORDINANCE relating to the selection of providers of and standards for indigent public defense services and amending Ordinance 121501.

· Summary of the Legislation:

Consistent with each a) Ordinance 121501 passed in 2004, b) 2007 City Auditor recommendations and c) Council Resolution 31008, this bill legislates the establishment of an RFQ review committee; clarifies the definition of a case; provides for an expanded secondary provider and a third provider; requires the selection of a provider to include an assigned Council program.

· Background:

Among other things this bill, 1) enforces the case load limits established per ordinance 121501; 2) describes composition of an independent RFP review panel to make recommendations for providers to the Executive per ordinance 121501; 3) includes provision for an Assigned Council Program; and 4) expands the contract for the secondary defense agency provider.

Ordinance 121501 legislated existing standards under a 1989 Budget Statement of Legislative Intent. This bill enforces the standards established in 1989 and reaffirmed in 2004, consequently, there is little, if any, fiscal impact from this bill. Further, the City pays according to number of cases, this bill does nothing to increase the number of cases for which indigent defendants need representation.

The fiscal impact to the city did not arise with the legislation in 2004 of these 1989 pre-existing public defense standards. The 2005 budget action and 2005 contract ended the City of Seattle’s funding of the King County Office of Public Defense to select and administer contracts with agencies providing public defense services for City defendants. The Mayor estimated impacts of $100,000 each year of reduced costs from this action. We now find that the savings from the 2005 budget action was $400,000 over the three year period that the Office of Planning and Management did not enforce the pre-existing 1989 standards, legislated by Ordinance 121501 in 2004.

A third entity to represent defendants in those cases with which the two primary agencies may have conflicts may have a fiscal savings because fewer cases will be referred to more costly, per hour private assigned counsel.

· Please check one of the following:

_X___ This legislation does not have any financial implications. (Stop here and delete the remainder of this document prior to saving and printing.)

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