By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Plans to establish a public defenders’ office in Kosciusko County saw some progress Thursday night.
The county council agreed to start paying an existing three-member board that will oversee the office a quarterly stipend as well as a small bonus of sorts for the work they did last year in in helping prepare plans for establishing the office.
The local court system has struggled for years to attract lawyers willing to take on cases in which offenders seek or are assigned a public defender.
Circuit Court Judge Matthew Buehler presented the request establish the stipend to the council and spoke about the need for the office afterward.
“Quite frankly, there’s a shortage of attorneys … this is an opportunity to perhaps draw in some talented attorneys that may want to come to this area and wanna work here full-time and an opportunity to give the people of Kosciusko County the best representation that we can,” Buehler said.
The public defenders’ service has historically been overseen by the board which will eventually include the role of hiring attorneys to staff the office.
The board includes Kevin Deardorff, Paul Stoelting and John Hall, Buehler said.
Their work last year will result in a $250 stipend and board members will now receive $109 for each quarterly meeting they attend.
Officials are still waiting for approval from the state and hope to have the office ready to go later this year, maybe even by July.
“I think that’s ambitious, but that would certainly be a goal,” he said.
He said he believes the change will help save the county money.
Council also reorganized Thursday night. Tony Ciriello was chosen to serve as president and Kathy Groninger will continue to serve as vice president.
Newly-elected Rachel Rhoades and Delynn Geiger participated in their first council meeting Thursday, taking seats formerly held by Sue Ann Mitchell and Joni Truex.
Council also discontinued the idea of holding meetings one week before the regular meeting, which was tested out briefly last year. Ciriello said they realized that the meetings did not yield any real benefits and chose to discontinue the practice.
