Jake McVay, deputy controller with the Office of Finance and Management, presented Proposal 3-43 to the Rules and Public Policy Committee and outlined the fiscal impact of a tentative union agreement covering Marion County Public Defender attorneys and support staff.

McVay said negotiations began last summer and that a tentative agreement "was reached earlier this October signed by both the union and the city." He told the committee the contract covers fiscal years 2025 and 2026, with salary adjustments implemented on the Nov. 21 paycheck to be effective Jan. 1, 2025, and a 3% increase scheduled for Jan. 1, 2026. The OFM calculations used a baseline of 137 attorneys and 86 support staff, producing average increases of about 24.6% for attorneys and 18.1% for support staff.

On benefits and other pay components, McVay said the fiscal estimates also include increases to PERF and other fringe benefits and that the contract provides reimbursement for attorney notary, social worker and interpreter licensing fees and a student loan reimbursement program similar to one offered by the prosecutor's office.

McVay described the funding approach for the first-year costs: the department used end-of-year fiscals to address first-year increases when negotiations occur after budget adoption, the PDA's budget includes cost-of-living adjustments that cover part of the increase, and the remaining costs will be funded in part by a "40% reimbursement the public defender agency receives from the State Public Defender Commission" and by a supplemental public safety income tax distribution. He said OFM is "confident that we will be able to fund these increases while adhering to our own fund balance policies" and that the city plans to build the contract costs into the 2027 budget.

No formal committee vote on Proposal 3-43 was recorded in committee minutes during this meeting; McVay concluded the presentation and took questions from committee members.