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Morrow County considers raising court-appointed defense pay to $75 an hour
Summary
Judges asked Morrow County commissioners on June 17 to raise court-appointed defense attorney reimbursement from $70 in-court/$60 out-of-court to $75/$75, citing competition from neighboring counties and risk of losing local counsel; commissioners said they will consider the change next week.
At a June 17 meeting of the Morrow County Board of Commissioners, county officials discussed a judges' request to increase reimbursement rates for court-appointed defense attorneys from $70 per hour in court and $60 per hour out of court to $75 per hour for both categories.
Speaker 6 (Unidentified Speaker), who said he had met with Judge Hixson, Judge Elkin and Judge Verrill, told commissioners that several neighboring counties pay $75 an hour for both in-court and out-of-court work and warned the county risks losing local defense attorneys unless it matches those rates. "If we do nothing, then we are in a very short term looking at the prospect of having to contact the state public defender's office," Speaker 6 said, adding that such a move could raise costs and require additional county support for the public defender's presence.
The speakers discussed reimbursement mechanics and budget impact. Speaker 6 cited a projection that the reimbursable portion for fiscal year 2025 could be about 78 percent, and explained the county's out-of-pocket cost under that reimbursement rate: a $5 hourly increase would translate to roughly $1.10 per hour in additional county expense, and a $15 hourly increase would cost about $3.30 per hour after reimbursements. Commissioners asked whether rates should be identical for in-court and out-of-court work; Speaker 6 said the judges prefer "75 and 75" because much of the attorneys' work occurs out of court and competition is for the out-of-court rate.
Commissioners and staff also discussed practical implementation steps including informing attorneys and setting an effective date. Speaker 6 said the court would typically apply the new rate to new appointments from the effective date and that existing cases would remain at the previously agreed rate. He suggested a July 1 effective date for new cases, and said Judge Hixson planned outreach to the Delaware County Bar Association if commissioners approve the change.
Commissioners did not vote on a rate change at the meeting; Speaker 2 said the item will be considered next week and may be placed on a Monday agenda for further action.
