Budget for court appointed attorneys already depleted for fiscal year, just six months in

​YORK – The budget for court appointed attorneys, assigned to represent indigent defendants in York County, is already depleted for this fiscal year, even though the fiscal year is only half over.

​“We saw again, this claim period, another large public defense bill,” York County Commissioner Chairman Randy Obermier pointed out this past week when the county board met in regular session. “We are almost all the way through the budget on this one, in just six months, but it is what it is and we are stuck with it.”
The county is required to pay for public defense – whether it be through the public defender’s office or through hiring outside attorneys when there is a conflict of interest for the public defender.
The county is required to pay $125 an hour for outside attorneys to provide that service. This is the fund which is already depleted.
Another fund which will need to be infused with money is that of state institutions, which pays the bill when people are placed in emergency protective custody (EPC). This fund is negative $19,000 at this point.
“We will have some negatives in funds and we will need to make some transfers,” Obermier said. “We will probably have to open up the budget later on.”