By Mac McDowell

Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks is again wasting County tax payer dollars, this time over one-quarter million dollars. Banks claims commissioners cannot hire counsel without his approval.

He’s wrong.

Three Superior Court judges told him he’s wrong, two stated this in writing to him on April 20, and the third threw out his recent court case.

RCW 36.32.200, among other things, states “… the contract of employment of such attorney or counsel has been first reduced to writing and approved by the presiding superior court judge of the county in writing.”

The county commissioners obtained both superior judges’ approval to hire an attorney to help them carry out the commissioner’s responsibility of setting county policy.

The county prosecutor has no authority in setting county policy and the fact he argues he was elected does not change that responsibility or authority or give him the authority to set policy.

It’s pathetic that Banks states he is trying to keep cost low; only a government attorney bureaucrat with no financial skin in the game would say $256,000 is remotely low or that ignoring three judges and demanding to go to the state Supreme Court, regardless of those judge’s opinions, is keeping costs low.

The RCW allowing commissioners to hire an outside attorney is critically important.

Imagine if a county had a vindictive or corrupt, or just plain stupid prosecuting attorney that refused to sign off on any counsel outside of his control. That would be like a little dictator trying to control all legal matters in a county without any local recourse.

The commissioners, with written approval of a county superior court judge, need that recourse.

Banks claims all 39 Washington state counties want this court case. If that is his rationale to sue, he should show correspondence from all 39 counties making this claim.

Mac McDowell is an Oak Harbor resident and former Island County commissioner.