The Burlington City Council is considering approval of an updated interlocal agreement for the Skagit and Island County Multiple Agency Response Team (SMART). The update reflects a joint decision by participating law enforcement agencies to fund an outside contractor to handle SMART’s administrative management, including compliance with WAC 139-12, audits with the State Auditor, training coordination, forms and data management, new member onboarding, community representative coordination, and participation in statewide stakeholder meetings. The document specifies that each party (including Burlington) will contribute an equal annual share (example given is 7142.86 per party if the contract totals 50000 annually, and a Burlington budget placeholder of 7145.86 for a full year) with Skagit County collecting and paying the contractor, and the SMART Commander tasked with negotiating the contract. While the decision to use an outside contractor is made, the specific vendor is not yet named in this agenda packet, indicating that the procurement/selection of that contractor is still to occur or be finalized. This creates an opening for firms that provide public safety program administration, compliance, or investigative team support services to position themselves, particularly around independent use-of-force investigations and multi-agency team governance.

Each party pays its share to Skagit County 7 days before the contractor’s contract year begins; SMAR...