Public Defender office awarded multiple grants; committee tables stipend plan and approves new case-management contract

Warren County's public defender office told the committee it had received two grant award notices from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and asked the committee to recognize the awards and amend the county budget to spend the funds. The grants are tied to discovery reform and supplemental funding for assigned counsel; the presenter said one award totals $190,300 and the public defender's office share is $139,737.29.

Assistant Public Defender and staff described potential uses including technology upgrades to support discovery reform, a new case-management platform, expert witness funds and one-time stipends for attorneys. County legal counsel advised that one-time lump-sum stipends for past service are likely legally problematic under the New York Constitution and county policy; counsel recommended that any permanent pay changes be implemented by amending salary schedules rather than paying retrospective stipends.

Committee members asked procedural and budgetary questions: whether the money had already been received (staff said the funds arrived in 2024), when expenditures must be made (grant award notices indicate use by March 31, 2025), and whether the county would need to reappropriate funds that had fallen to fund balance. Several supervisors urged caution and recommended vetting with the county attorney, county administrator and treasurer before deciding on stipend or salary uses. On that basis the committee voted to table discussion of the spending plan (items to amend salary or pay stipends) and to refer budget amendments and spending details to the Finance Committee for review.

Separately the committee approved a contract to implement a new LegalServer case-management system for the public defender office to improve access to discovery and enable off-site case access for attorneys. The presenter said procurement steps (RFP / sole-source review) are underway and that the contract aligns with discovery-reform grant funding.

The public defender's office also announced it had been selected for a Family Defense (child welfare quality improvement and caseload reduction) grant worth $250,000 per year over three years; that selection was informational and no committee action was required. The presenter said the office currently has four attorney vacancies out of 15 authorized attorney positions.

Motions and votes: the committee approved recognizing and amending the budget to reflect the grant awards subject to further review, but tabled final approval of any stipend payments. The LegalServer contract was approved by voice vote. Staff said they would return to Finance and the committee with recommended spending plans that conform to legal counsel's guidance.