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Board amends public defender budget and approves new positions, adds pay steps
Summary
The board amended the Muskegon County public defender budget to match a Michigan Indigent Defense Commission award, approved a grant-funded mitigation specialist position by 4-3 vote, and added two steps to certain position pay scales to align county pay progression.
Muskegon County commissioners voted to amend the public defender's budget and approve several personnel changes after staff said the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission (MIDC) finalized funding after the county submitted an earlier budget.
Amy Campanelli, who identified herself as public defender director for Muskegon County, and Angela Dardmeier, deputy chief public defender, explained the office's staffing structure and the need to align authorized positions and pay steps with MIDC requirements. "When we put the budget forward, the MIDC had not yet approved their budget, so we used the numbers we were more confident we would get," a presenter said; MIDC later approved the budget and the county moved to amend its figures to reflect that award.
The board approved a mitigation specialist position (position number G0510) funded by the Michigan Defense Commission after a roll-call vote that recorded four yes and three no votes. Commissioners McGuigan, Nash, Vice Chair Cook and Commissioner Paige voted yes; Commissioners Cyr, Herman and Saer/Seer voted no. The chair announced the motion passed 4-3.
Commissioners asked whether the MIDC award increased salary obligations. County staff answered that many of the increases are grant-tied and that the change would be net neutral for the county's bottom line because grant funds would cover associated costs. "So it's a net 0 impact to our bottom line," one county speaker said.
Separately, the board approved a motion to add two additional steps to certain position pay scales to create an eight-step progression, setting step 8 at $63.07 per hour. Presenters clarified that adding steps authorizes future progression but does not immediately change any individual's salary; Human Resources will apply the step increases in the normal course when employees qualify.
The actions were recorded in motions and roll-call votes or voice votes per the meeting record. Implementation steps include HR processing of new step structure and the public defender office proceeding to fill grant-funded positions as authorized.
