Prosecutor asks for an extra deputy as county begins public-defender reimbursement pilot
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Summary
The prosecutor requested one additional deputy prosecutor to handle increased filings after the transfer of city misdemeanors to county court; the public-defender office said a state pilot will reimburse roughly $255,975.08 annually for four years and could offset some costs, and the committee approved adding one deputy.
The county prosecutor told the committee that a reallocation of misdemeanor filings into county court division 5 has increased workload and created a backlog in city court that requires additional prosecutorial coverage. "We're having to cover 2 courts the same morning," the prosecutor said, describing part-time deputies who now must move between courtrooms and who have at times worked through lunch to cover dockets.
Gretchen from the public-defender office described a state-administered pilot program that will reimburse the county for a portion of public-defender costs. She said the commission set annual reimbursements for Vigo County at roughly $255,975.08 per year over four years (about $1 million total) and that the program includes Title IV and mental-health reimbursements; the pilot relies on a Supreme Court declaration form to verify eligibility for appointed counsel. Gretchen said the county was already seeing an uptick of roughly 400 appointments in the current period and that contract and statutory details will determine how the reimbursements may be used.
After discussion, a council member moved to add the requested full-time deputy prosecutor; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
Next steps: staff will incorporate the new position into the salary ordinance and ensure the county's budget paperwork reflects the requested addition and any contractual or contractual-money needs related to the pilot program.