Board approves $4.45 million in midyear appropriations for indigent defense and public defender

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve two supplemental appropriation ordinances to support indigent defense services and the Public Defender's office for fiscal year 2009-10. The board approved item 16, appropriating $3,250,000 of general fund reserves for indigent defense expenses in the Superior Court, and item 17, appropriating about $1,200,000 for salary expenditures in the Public Defender's office.

Supervisor Avalos described the ordinances as the result of work by the Controller's Office and staff to identify a caseload level the Public Defender could sustain in the current budget year without transferring (conflicting out) an excessive number of cases to private counsel, which would increase costs in the trial-court indigent defense program. Avalos said the appropriations were negotiated to balance the public defender's staffing needs with the trial court's indigent defense expenditures.

Supervisor Mar (Marr) and others praised the settlements and urged support. "It will address their lack of staffing and, in many ways, lessen the amount of cases handled over to private attorneys," Marr said, adding the office serves about 25,000 people annually.

The clerk recorded a roll-call vote: the ordinances passed on first reading with 10 ayes.

The ordinances authorize the supplemental funding and direct the relevant departments to manage staffing levels and the caseload target included in the settlement. Several supervisors said the appropriations are not the end of conversation and asked for continued monitoring as the city's budget outlook evolves.