The attorneys offered no solutions on Tuesday to bridge a $2 million budget deficit. County staff recommended eliminating 24 positions, but only 13 of those are currently occupied. Supervisor Debbie Poochigian supported the reduction. She said, "We have a budget figure. We can't go back to our other departments and offer them more. We don't have the money."
Supervisors Henry Perea and Susan Anderson both agreed- keeping the status quo could actually save money. Anderson said, "We're cutting the public defender's office too deep. We know they are going to have to stop representing certain number of people, and those people are going to be represented by contract attorneys. That cost is going to increase, but that increase is not in the budget."
In the end, the board voted 3-2 to adopt the recommendations and cut the office. The chief public defender hopes to find new sources of money to avoid some layoffs. But if he doesn't, the last day for 13 employees will be September 7.
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