LYNNWOOD—The council will consider an ordinance to establish a Youth Council and discuss a 25% increase to Public Defender Service costs in a mid-budget cycle adjustment at its upcoming Business meeting on August 11, at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Establishing a Youth Council within the City of Lynnwood
Council Members are to review a proposed Youth Council ordinance.
On May 21, 2025, Council Members Josh Binda and Derica Escamilla presented a draft ordinance to establish a Youth Council and requested Council feedback regarding whether the body should be formally structured as a Board/Commission or as a program. Council requested that the task group return with clearly outlined options and a recommendation at a future meeting.
On July 14, 2025, Council voted to intend to establish the Youth Council as an official commission and bring back the ordinance for review at a future date.
Both Escamilla and Binda, the stewards of this program and authors of the ordinance, included that they founded a Lynnwood Youth Council in their 2025 Primary Elections Voter’s Pamphlet under their elected and professional experience bios. A statement submitted months ago in May as fact when no such Youth Council existed, adding to speculation of intentionally misrepresenting truths for political benefits.
Escamilla, who admitted to giving Binda rides to his alleged Everett address, also failed to inform council members and Mayor Frizzell during her council appointment process in 2024 of her alleged family associations with the Norteños gang and also of the Lynnwood Police raid on her home for allegedly harboring a fugitive.
Indigent Defense Services contract adjustment
The City Council will consider a 25% increase to Public Defender Service costs in a mid-budget cycle adjustment from $60,000/month ($720,000/year) to $75,000/month ($900,000/year) — this equates to an increase of $180,000/year.
The City provides Indigent Defense Services (Public Defender) to defendants eligible for assistance, through a professional services contract with Feldman & Lee. For its proposed Sept 2025 – Dec 2026 contract, the council will discuss, the law firm is requesting an increase in compensation to $75,000 per month, to allow for a fourth full-time attorney to handle both the increased case filings as well as the mandatory WA Supreme Court reductions in total case counts per lawyer which Lynnwood is expected to exceed by the end of this year.
On March 8, 2024, the Washington State Bar Association adopted revised Standards for Indigent Defense Services (WSBA Standards). These new standards will, over a three-year period, drastically reduce the number of public defense cases an attorney is able to accept in a year.
The WA Supreme Court on June 9, 2025, issued an order setting new, lower caseload standards for public defenders. The new standards will be phased in over a two-year period beginning on July 2, 2025, with the full standard beginning on July 2, 2027.
Because the City had not yet renegotiated its current contract with Feldman & Lee by the time of its 2025-26 Budget adoption in November of 2024, legal services were estimated at $1.84 million factoring in a 10% increase for 2025.
It is unknown if the $1.84 million line item for Public Defense in the approved biennium budget is solely for its contract with Feldman & Lee. If so, the approved $1.84 million budgeted line item should be enough to cover the estimated biennium cost through Dec 2026 of $1.76 million.
Author: Mario Lotmore
