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Council approves 2026 public-defender agreement with Lucas County
Summary
The council authorized a 2026 agreement with the Lucas County Board of Commissioners for public defender services to the Sylvania Municipal Court, noting a modest cost increase after a recalculation of billable municipal-code cases.
At the May 4 meeting the council approved Ordinance 81 (2026) as an emergency measure to authorize the mayor and finance director to sign an agreement with the Lucas County Board of Commissioners for public defender services to the Sylvania Municipal Court for 2026.
Miss Browning presented the agreement and explained the cost increase: the public defender commission recalculated the number of municipal-code cases and adjusted charges, leading to a higher bill this year compared with last year’s reduced figure. "It’s my understanding from the director of the public defender's commission that the cases were not calculated correctly last year...they went back and manually checked them this year," Browning said.
Council members asked about what determined the cost and Browning said charges depend on the count of qualifying municipal-code cases; the council approved the ordinance by voice vote as an emergency measure.
The agreement continues an intergovernmental arrangement intended to provide counsel to indigent defendants charged under city code, a service the presenter said has historically cost less than creating in-house coverage.
