The chief public defender told the Grant County Council on Aug. 28 that the office has lost multiple attorneys in recent months and requested a set of pay and staffing changes intended to recruit and retain defenders and to preserve state reimbursement levels.

Key elements of the request included raising trial public defender pay to $60,000 annually, creating a chief deputy public defender post (with a county stipend and expected partial state reimbursement of 40%), and increasing investigator pay from about $43,001.64 to $50,000. The defender’s office explained that it had been able to hire less-experienced attorneys at lower pay, but turnover remained high because surrounding counties offer better pay and lighter caseloads. The chief public defender said the office is out of compliance with certain reimbursement metrics this quarter after losing staff and that the public defender commission warned that repeated noncompliance could reduce the county’s 40% reimbursement.

Council members and other speakers compared county pay and benefit packages with neighboring jurisdictions and asked whether converting part-time or contract positions to full-time would be more cost-effective. The chief public defender said full-time positions, a competitive pay range (around $60,000 for trial PDs) and a stable supervision structure would make recruitment feasible; however, he also noted that some senior contract defenders (super PDs) handle appeals and higher-level cases and were not part of the requested change.

The council approved the public defender fund categories 2, 3 and 4 with suggested changes but did not authorize the personnel package that night; personnel matters will be considered in future committee meetings.

Representative quotes from the transcript:
• "We're back again with the same request ... We are asking for our trial public defender to be paid $60,000 a year." — Chief Public Defender.
• "If you if you're out of compliance 2 quarters in a row, we're gonna start hitting you on your 40% reimbursement." — Chief Public Defender describing the reimbursement risk.

Next steps: The chief public defender said the office will pursue short-term contract hires paid hourly to maintain compliance while longer-term personnel decisions are taken up in committee; council agreed to consider personnel recommendations at a later meeting.

Provenance: Presentation and debate recorded in transcript from SEG 1653 through SEG 2209; motion approving non-salary categories recorded at SEG 2193–2208.