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Judge Turner wins board approval to convert two contract youth‑court attorneys to county employees for retention
Summary
Judge Leanne Turner asked the board to convert two contract-appointed juvenile‑court attorneys to employee status to offer health and retirement benefits and improve retention; supervisors approved a budget-neutral reclassification by reallocating existing contractual funds.
Judge Leanne Turner and juvenile-court staff asked the Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors to convert two existing contract-appointed juvenile-court attorney positions into county employee positions to allow those attorneys access to health insurance and retirement participation. Turner said the change is intended to improve retention of attorneys who represent children and parents in abuse, neglect and dependency cases.
Turner told the board that the juvenile court currently pays for multiple appointed attorneys and that the proposed conversion would not increase overall budgeted spending because the court would eliminate one vacant contractor slot and reallocate existing contractual funds to cover the employer-side costs of two employee positions. Turner said the proposal would reduce county juvenile-court expenditures by about $3,000 under the budget model she provided.
Board members discussed the fiscal and administrative implications, including the county's self-insured health plan and how adding employees could affect claims costs. Turner and staff said they would provide additional cost details if needed but told the board the conversion would support longevity and continuity for attorneys who regularly appear in youth court.
Supervisors voted to approve the requested staffing conversion and the associated budget reallocation. The vote passed unanimously.
