Supervisors approve revised Public Defender budget after weekslong debate

Santa Cruz County supervisors on June 24 approved a revised 2026–27 budget for the Public Defender's Office that preserves staff positions and keeps the county's contract with the private conflicts firm in place.

Public Defender Heather Rogers told the board the revised plan emerged from what she described as a “minga” — a community model of shared work — in which county departments contributed short‑term savings and revenue to avoid layoffs. Rogers said the revised budget delays filling one senior investigator position, deletes a limited‑term administrative aid, and extends some recruitments to yield about $342,970 in savings. She added the office identified an additional $311,651 in Medical Administrative Activities revenue tied to social‑work work with clients.

The remaining $48,998 shortfall was made up by reallocations from the Probation Department ($283,998) and the Health Services Agency ($125,000), County Executive Officer Nicole Coburn said. Coburn said the approach preserved the two‑division system (county public defender plus conflicts representation) and avoided staff cuts that officials warned would destabilize services to clients.

Rogers asked the board to approve a budget that includes $1,287,000 in revenue, $21,531,387 in expenses and a general fund contribution of $18,228,942, with 64 funded full‑time positions.

The presentation set off an extended debate about the county’s contract with the conflicts law firm Paige & Dudley. Some supervisors and members of the public pressed the county to reduce or end that outside contract and bring more work in house; defenders, union representatives and the conflicts firm warned abrupt changes would disrupt representation. A substitute motion to reduce the conflicts contract by 15% failed, and the board instead adopted the administration’s recommended budget, 4–1, with Chair Martinez opposing.

Supervisor Cummings, who supported approving the revised budget, said staff followed the board’s direction to protect county employees and to return with a sustainable plan for conflicts representation during the coming fiscal year. Coburn said staff will return with an analysis of conflict‑representation models — including in‑house, right‑sized contract, and panel approaches — and a recommendation by December 2026 to guide decisions before the current conflicts contract expires on June 30, 2027.

The board’s action avoids layoffs in the Public Defender’s Office this year but leaves longer‑term structural choices — and a projected multi‑year budget gap — for future deliberations.

Votes: The motion to adopt the recommended budget passed 4–1 (Supervisors Koenig, Dura, Cummings and Hernandez voted yes; Chair Martinez voted no).