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Public Defender office receives Controlling Board approval to address county-share shortfall in FY26
Summary
The Controlling Board approved a request from the Ohio Public Defender’s Office to address discrepancies between county-share funding and state GRF appropriations for FY26; officials said the disconnect originated between the office’s September request and the executive budget proposal.
The Ohio Controlling Board approved the Public Defender’s request for additional funds to address county‑share obligations after changes made in the executive budget, the office said.
Andy Plagens, chief fiscal officer for the Ohio Public Defender’s Office, told the board that the discrepancy arose because the executive‑introduced budget included a lower GRF state share than the office had requested in September, which in turn affected the county-share calculations. “No, you are correct in that, yes, the amount that was appropriated from the executive to the past version stayed the same. The disconnect happened between our request last September and the executive introduced version,” Plagens said.
Board action: The item was approved with no objections. Senator Wilkin asked whether the office was seeing higher expenses or a disconnect in budgeting; Plagens said the difference was due to the executive budget GRF figure being lower than requested and the office had not had an opportunity to change the county share in the interim.
Next steps: The Public Defender’s Office will use the approved funds to address the county-share shortfall for FY26 and coordinate with budget administrators on any remaining allocation issues.
