The Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office urged the county commission to approve budget requests that would add three full‑time felony attorneys, additional office space and salary adjustments for staff.

Angela Chang, director of the youth defense division, presented the office’s case, citing improved results from a holistic defense model and a history of case outcomes that she said save county dollars by avoiding incarceration and reducing assigned‑counsel costs. Chang said the office expects increased reimbursements from the state public defender program (estimated at 84%) and projected net county cost for three new attorneys to be modest once reimbursement is applied.

Chang described concrete savings tied to reduced jail days and lower assigned‑counsel expenses and highlighted community programs such as the Fresh Start expungement clinic. She also said the public defender’s office needs additional training, technology and space as law enforcement invests in new technologies that defense attorneys must respond to.

Commissioners asked questions about whether the office’s requested salary adjustments were incorporated into the target budget and whether the three attorneys could be accommodated within existing office space in Bond Hill. The board expressed appreciation for the public defender’s outcomes and agreed to continue advocating for full state reimbursement where appropriate.

What happens next: The public defender requested items will be weighed against departmental target budgets; administration and commissioners signaled continued advocacy for higher state reimbursement and possible office space solutions in Bond Hill.