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Budget panel approves amended Public Defender supplemental after hours‑long debate
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee voted (3–2) to approve an amended supplemental appropriation to the Public Defender to cover salary shortfalls and temporary salaries, with the Budget & Legislative Analyst recommending a $94,003.54 reduction in not‑yet‑incurred temporary salary funding.
The committee considered an ordinance (Item 6) appropriating $751,312 from the General Fund Reserve to the Public Defender’s Office for FY2012‑13 salaries and expenditures. The request prompted an extended debate about budget discipline, constitutional obligations to provide defense counsel, and the operational consequences of staffing shortfalls.
Chief Assistant Gonzales explained the request as a combination of permanent salary shortfalls — primarily unanticipated step increases and premium pay — and temporary salaries that had been carried in previous years. The Budget & Legislative Analyst recommended approving the supplemental but disallowing $94,003.54 of not‑yet‑incurred temporary salary funding on principle that those positions had not been authorized by the Board in the 12/13 budget.
Public Defender Jeff Adachi described immediate operational pressure: three investigator vacancies (two already vacant, a third impending) and other investigator leave statuses that, he said, will prevent the office from adequately investigating homicide and other serious cases. Adachi said inability to replace investigators would force case referrals to private counsel, which historically proved far costlier for the city; he said in a prior year denial the city later incurred roughly $4.3 million in private‑counsel costs.
Supervisors split on whether supplementals should be a regular remedy for previously recognized budget pressures. Several members expressed concern about precedent and the message that approving mid‑year funding sends to department heads. Others, including Supervisors Avalos and Marr, emphasized the constitutional duty to provide defense and the likely larger expense if cases are pushed to the private bar.
On a roll call the committee approved the supplemental as amended (amending out the $94,003.54 in not‑yet‑incurred temporary salaries recommended by the Budget & Legislative Analyst). Vote: Marr Aye; Avalos Aye; Reid Aye; Weiner No; Farrell No. The committee recommended the amended supplemental to the full Board.
