Public Safety committee approves shift to per-case indigent-defense billing and authorizes use of Cuyahoga Falls indoor firing range

The Akron Public Safety Committee on Thursday recommended consent for two items: a one-year contract arrangement with the Summit County Legal Defenders Office for representation of indigent defendants in Akron Municipal Court, and a contract to use Cuyahoga Falls’ training center and indoor firing range for Akron Police Department training.

Indigent defense: Deb Matz, the city’s director of law, said the city annually contracts with the Summit County Legal Defenders Office for representation of indigent defendants. Under a change the legal defenders’ office is testing in Akron, the county will be billed at $230 per case by the legal defenders’ office and then will seek reimbursement from the Ohio Public Defender’s Commission. The county will bill Akron only for the unreimbursed portion — currently about 22% — so Akron’s payment will be 22% of the county’s billed amount. Matz said the prior arrangement had been a flat annual bill (historically around $880,000) sent to Akron and adjusted by reimbursements; the per-case approach mirrors how the county bills other municipal courts.

Matz said she cannot produce a precise case count from memory but estimated the legal defenders’ office handles “around 9,000” Akron cases when including journal and traffic matters; she said committee staff will provide exact counts. Committee members pressed for clarity on fiscal implications; members were told the city’s budget still reflects the earlier estimate and staff will bring more precise figures. The committee approved placing the ordinance on the consent agenda and requested case-count data, which Matz said she would provide later that afternoon.

Firing range: The committee also advanced an ordinance authorizing the mayor or designee to contract with the City of Cuyahoga Falls for use of its training center and indoor firing range. Staff noted differences between training facilities: Cuyahoga Falls provides an indoor range that allows low-light and other indoor-specific training; the Summit County range is an outdoor facility. Staff said some training will continue at the sheriff’s range while use of Cuyahoga Falls offers financial and training benefits for specific indoor exercises. The committee placed the firing-range agreement on the consent agenda by voice vote.

Ending: Both ordinances were moved to the consent agenda; staff committed to providing detailed case-count data for indigent defense billing and to furnish copy of the Cuyahoga Falls agreement for council review.