Committee reviews part‑time assistant public defender pay as office cites statewide funding shortfall

Erie County finance committee members considered a first reading of an appointed‑official salary ordinance to authorize part‑time assistant public defenders and heard extended testimony about recruitment, retention and the limits of local stopgap funding.

An office representative said pay lags and state funding rules constrain the county: the representative said the office prioritized hiring paralegals with state funds because paralegals reduce attorney workload without the compensation restrictions that apply to licensed attorneys. “I chose the paralegal route, and that definitely was the best choice for us because it’s taken a lot of our workload,” the speaker said.

Committee members and the public defender’s office discussed the broader context: a statewide shortage of public defenders, legislative changes that reclassified some conflict‑counsel positions as court employees, and a $7.5 million figure referenced for state public‑defender funding that officials said is inadequate for the county’s needs. The office asked the committee to consider a resolution supporting additional state funding; a county official said they would circulate a sample letter and that a committee member would consider sponsoring a resolution supporting the Public Defender Association’s request.

The salary ordinance was presented as a first reading; no final salary schedule was adopted at the meeting. Committee members noted state funding limitations and said county actions are stopgap measures that do not replace sustained state investment for public defense.

Committee members asked county staff to circulate any model resolution or sample letter from the Public Defender Association to committee clerks and to consider whether county funds could be used in the short term to retain staff while pursuing state relief.