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Committee approves salary ordinance to convert reentry funds into three in‑house positions after process questions
Summary
After questions about whether $200,000 had been placed in contractual services or salaries, the committee approved a salary ordinance to fund two reentry social‑worker/paralegals and a coordinator for the Public Defender's reentry program.
The committee approved an ordinance that adds three positions to the Public Defender’s budget for a reentry program: two social‑worker/paralegals and one coordinator. The positions are part of a Safe Communities Reentry Council effort to provide reentry services to ex‑offenders.
The ordinance followed a procedural dispute: a prior supplemental appropriation of $200,000 intended to fund these positions had been placed in the professional‑services (contractual) object by error, rather than in salaries. Public Defender staff said the intent from the outset was to hire the positions in‑house; the controller’s budget analyst said the supplemental had been placed in contractual services in the earlier action and that the committee should reduce the appropriation by $66,945 to correct an accounting error (an earlier $11,555 training item was mis‑accounted and revised). Committee members expressed frustration that hires had been made on temporary salaries before the full salary ordinance was approved, but ultimately approved the ordinance by roll call (Supervisor Duffy Aye; Supervisor Peskin Nay; Supervisor Daley Aye).
Outcome: The committee passed the ordinance and forwarded it as approved. Members asked for clearer budget processes going forward to avoid misclassification of supplemental funds.
