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County discusses $137,000 ILS contract increase to shore up public defender staffing
Summary
Officials discussed a proposed $137,000-per-year addition to the Indigent Legal Services contract that would include an $80,000 annual attorney retention stipend for the county public defender’s office, staffing gaps and potential downstream costs if cases shift to assigned counsel.
Public Defender (unnamed), a representative of the county public defender’s office, told the Washington County Personnel Committee on Jan. 30 that the state’s Indigent Legal Services (ILS) program has proposed adding $137,000 per year to the county’s contract and that the county’s share would include $80,000 a year for attorney retention stipends. The discussion matters because the office currently has two vacancies and said an inability to retain salaried attorneys could push more cases to assigned counsel, which committee members said is substantially more expensive. “There are 8 attorneys. I've been I'm 9 on staff, so I have 8 assistants. 2 vacancies as of yesterday,” the public defender said. Committee members and staff described the ILS proposal as a two-pronged contract adjustment that would add money for both the public defender’s office and for assigned counsel. The public defender said the $137,000…
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