SUMMARY: $300K fund expected to have carryover at year's end
Holmes Countys indigent defense fund appears to be on track to end 2012 in the black, with commissioners expecting a carry-over.
County commissioners budgeted $300,000 in 2012 to cover the expenses of legal council for criminal defendants whose income entitles them to a court-appointed attorney. According to numbers presented at the Monday, Nov. 5 commissioners business meeting by Commissioner Ray Eyler, the fund has $213,374.34 remaining as of June, the latest numbers available.
The funds fiscal health can be attributed to numerous factors. Commissioners arrived at the $300,000 figure by looking back at expenditures in past years, Commissioner Rob Ault said, setting aside a little more than average. The state, through the Office of the Ohio Public Defender, also reimburses 35 percent of expenditures from the fund related to indigent defense.
In the first six months of the year, the courts spent $130,668.39 on indigent defense and were reimbursed $44,042.73. The expenses must be approved by the Office of the Ohio Public Defender before a reimbursement is made.
The courts sometimes order convicted defendants who had a court appointed attorney to reimburse the county for their legal fees. So far this year, the clerk of courts has collected $9,743.46 through these court orders. The money goes into a line item in the general fund and can be applied to the indigent defense fund the following year.
Indigent defense has been a concern for commissioners for several years as the costs continue to increase. In the past, commissioners investigated the possibility of creating a public defenders office to control costs.
In most circumstances, anyone approved for a court-appointed attorney must pay a $25 application fee. Most of the fee goes to the Office of the Ohio Public Defender.
Anyone who is facing a period of incarceration is entitled to legal representation in court. A person must be determined to be indigent to qualify for a court-appointed attorney, a determination usually made by a judge.
Also Monday, commissioners approved a $20,500 contract with W.E. Quicksal & Associates for engineering services for a project to pave public parking in Charm. Quicksal will be responsible for engineering and oversight, as well as the bid process.
Commissioners have $121,500 in Community Development Block Grant dollars for the parking lot project.
The Charm project will resurface a gravel lot located off state Route 557 in Charm with a four inch deep asphalt surface. A concrete pad currently used for horse and buggy parking will be extended 20 feet.
