Public defender asks Hancock County for $30,000 to fund raises as state reimbursement guidance shifts

Representatives of the Hancock County Public Defender's office met with the commissioners on April 9 to discuss the office’s budget and a supplemental funding request.

Paul Maekask, joined by Natalie Click, provided background on recent budget reductions and current staffing and asked the commissioners for an additional $30,000 to fund raises for office employees. Commissioner Jeffrey Hunker and the other commissioners said they would take the request under advisement and provide a decision the following week.

County staff distributed materials from the Ohio Office of the Public Defender (OPD) showing historical reimbursement rates and a memorandum dated April 1, 2026, from State Public Defender Elizabeth R. Miller outlining updated Standards and Guidelines for Appointed Counsel Reimbursement. The OPD memo explains changes to rules for in-transit time and transcript reimbursement, describes the Court Appointed Billing System (CABS) and states that the OPD is setting an initial projected FY27 reimbursement rate at 80%. The memo cautions that the final rate depends on the total costs submitted by Ohio’s 88 counties once those submissions are complete.

Laura Austin provided projections and noted the county’s prior OPD reimbursement history (documents in the packet listed monthly approved and reimbursed figures for FY24–FY26 and showed an average FY reimbursement rate in the low 80% range for recent years). The county minutes record that the commissioners agreed to consider the public defender’s supplemental request at next week’s meeting; no appropriation was made during the April 9 session.

Next steps: the commissioners indicated they would decide on the $30,000 supplemental request at a future meeting; the OPD memo implies counties should prepare FY27 reimbursement submissions consistent with the updated Standards and Guidelines beginning July 2026.