Unfunded Mandates Hit the County Courthouse

The following blog post was written by Lincoln County Commissioner Rob Coffman as part of his regular “Commish Corner” series in the local newspapers and posted on his public Facebook page. Commissioner Coffman was elected President of the Washington State Association of Counties in November 2024. Opinions expressed here are his own, although the situations he describes are common to many if not all rural counties. Ask your commissioners how it affects you and your county. This is one of many issues the WREN will be tracking in the upcoming legislative session.
Sue Lani Madsen, WREN President

Mandates Without Money:
How Olympia Is Setting Counties Up to Fail

While serving as Lincoln County Commissioner, I’ve seen my share of bad laws and unfunded mandates from Olympia. But I have never witnessed the kind of squeeze counties are under today. Between court orders, runaway costs, and the Legislature’s latest strings-attached “help,” rural communities like ours are being set up to fail.

The Supreme Court’s Order

In June, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that public defenders are carrying too many cases. This decision created new “caseloads standards” and cut the existing amount of cases per attorney by more than half, effectively tripling the cost to counties and forcing us to hire more public defense attorneys—attorneys who simply do not exist anywhere in this state.

For decades, counties have lobbied Olympia to adequately fund public defense. To no avail. Now the Washington State Association of Counties is suing the state, arguing that this is a constitutional obligation the Legislature has dumped on us. That lawsuit was filed before the new caseload standards came down, making the mandate a double gut punch. Counties did not create this problem, but the state is forcing us to clean up its mess—on our dime. This mandate is financially impossible to comply with, without the state fully funding their constitutional responsibility.

The Coroner Bill

In 2024, the Legislature passed HB 2132, known as the coroner bill. For more than a century, small counties like ours relied on prosecuting attorneys to serve as coroners. Now, we are required to elect or appoint a separate county coroner. The law took effect this year, and—like so many Olympia mandates—came with zero funding.

Olympia’s New Public Safety Package

Governor Ferguson’s signature project, HB 2015, was promoted as a major boost for local public safety. On paper, it promised hope: a fund offering counties up to $125,000—with a 25% local match—to hire law enforcement personnel, plus the option to impose a 0.1% sales tax for public safety without a vote of the people.

But, as always, the devil is in the details. The $125,000 can only be used to hire brand-new, untrained deputies, and only for three years. After that, the entire cost is shifted back to the county. To top it all off, before a county can receive any of these funds, they must submit for review and approval by the State Attorney General’s Office, all documents and policies that prove the county is in compliance with all aspects of the Keep Washington Working Act (KWWA).

What is the KWWA?

The Keep Washington Working Act is a statewide sanctuary law that prohibits local and state agencies from assisting federal immigration enforcement in most civil cases, restricts information-sharing with ICE, and requires every public agency to adopt policies consistent with those restrictions.

In short, to receive any of this money, counties must adopt the KWWA sanctuary-style policies, which prohibit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Effectively forcing counties into “Sanctuary” status and bending a knee to flawed political ideologies that dictate policy in our once great state.

The Bigger Picture

Even if counties wanted to raise local revenue to keep up with all of Olympia’s edicts and unfunded mandates, they couldn’t without a vote of the people. And people here in Lincoln County and across the state are fed up with the never-ending, regressive taxes imposed by our Legislature.

So, Lincoln County will continue to live within its means, even though that will create a reduction in services across the board into the future. The “Structural Gap” defines our future; revenues grow at only 1% per year, while expenses rise by 5–10%. The result is a widening “V-shaped” gap between revenue and expenses, year after year. Out of control risk insurance premiums, contractual cost-of-living adjustments, and the flood of unfunded mandates ensure the gap only grows wider.

Counties like Lincoln don’t ask for a lot from the state. We just want the ability to adequately fund basic services. Hopefully counties will prevail in the lawsuit, forcing Olympia to comply with its constitutional duty and provide some much-needed relief. I will hope for the best but I won’t hold my breath!

By Lincoln County Commissioner Rob Coffman