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County committee debates $400,000 supplemental request for public defender office
Summary
Vanderburgh County council members pressed the public defender’s office for details on a requested $400,000 supplemental appropriation, raising questions about prior spending from the office’s fund, hiring challenges and whether the request is to cover past shortfalls or ongoing needs.
The Vanderburgh County Personnel Finance Committee discussed a request by the public defender's office for an additional $400,000 in supplemental funding, with committee members pressing staff for details about prior expenditures and hiring plans.
The discussion opened after committee members identified that three of four appropriations on the agenda involved the sheriff’s department and that the public defender item would be taken first. James, a representative of the public defender's office, told the committee, “I can tell you that I have over a 150,000 in bills right now that I'm sitting on that cannot be paid because we don't have the money.”
Committee members questioned how the office had drawn down previous funds. President Schettler said the committee had seen “in excess…
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