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Ottawa County public defender warns of staffing shortfall as office prepares state funding request
Summary
Public Defender Phil Silski told commissioners the office lost 14 attorneys between June 2024 and February 2026, shifted to hourly contracts to maintain caseloads and is preparing a state funding request that includes a highlighted figure of around $942,000.
Phil Silski, director of the Ottawa County Public Defender's Office, told the Board of Commissioners on March 24 that his office has experienced a cascade of departures that left it short-staffed over the past 18 months and forced operational shifts.
"From June '24 through February '26, there have been 14 attorneys within the office that have resigned," Silski said, describing resignations by senior and mid-level felony attorneys and the loss last year of then‑public defender Nicole Dirks to Kent County. Silski said the office responded by using MIDC permission to shift some vacant‑position salary funding into contracts for outside hourly attorneys to keep caseloads covered.
Silski also outlined budget trends in recent years, saying the office spent about 73% of its allocation in fiscal 2025 after prior years of near‑budget spending, and that the county's state funding recommendation for the coming cycle was lower. "I have it highlighted there — it's gonna be 942,000," he said, noting the figure as the amount reflected in their draft request to the state.
Silski said the office was actively recruiting and expected to be fully staffed by about June 1 if offers and start dates held, and emphasized the office had not requested new positions for the upcoming budget but was seeking to preserve caseload capacity.
The presentation lasted approximately 30 minutes and drew no substantive questions from commissioners at the meeting; Silski concluded by thanking the board for its support.
