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Lakewood leaders warn indigent defense costs will outpace local funding without state action
Summary
City officials told state legislators indigent defense costs are rising and local grants are insufficient; staff said a public-safety tax could provide roughly $2 million but projections still show a growing gap starting around 2027 if state policy and funding do not change.
Paul Bokey told legislators that Lakewood and peer cities face mounting indigent defense costs that local budgets struggle to absorb. He said the city receives some state grant assistance (two $40,000 grants were cited) but that indigent defense costs are still substantial and rising; staff described local estimates of a little over $1,000,000 in indigent-defense costs beyond…
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