Board Matter

January 12, 2016

Request that increased funding of the Office of the Public Defender be added as Budget Consideration Item

Madam Chairman:

The Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office has been operating since 1987. Over the past 29 years, it has never received any funds from the County. In 2014 and 2015, the Office of the Public Defender managed over 13,000 cases, and during 2015, the Office had an attorney turnover rate of 25 percent, largely due to state salary constraints. Currently, only five attorneys have more than four years of service at the Office of the Public Defender.

The American Bar Association has recognized that parity in workload, salaries, and resources between prosecutors and public defenders is essential to an effective and ethical criminal justice system. To achieve this, it is appropriate for the County to supplement the Fairfax County Public Defender’s Office just as it has supplemented the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for many years. 

Attached please find two proposals drafted by the Public Defender for county supplements to the Office of the Public Defender. The first proposal includes the salaries of the attorneys and the office manager being raised to the level of their counterparts at the Commonwealth Attorney’s office. The second proposal includes raises that do not result in parity for the offices, but are more modest supplements. This proposal would help bring the salaries of those working at the Office of the Public Defender closer to their counterparts at the Commonwealth Attorney's office. 

For these reasons, Madame Chairman, I would ask that a potential increase of funding for the Office of the Public Defender be included as a budget consideration item.  

Funding Proposals from the Office of the Public Defender

  

Total Parity Proposal

Position                                                           % raise             Amount      #Pos         Total

PD raise to Chief Deputy CA salary                  22%             $26,000        1            $26,000

(Salary difference with elected CA would be $67,212 or 57%)

Chief Deputy PD raise to Deputy CA Salary     58%            $50,135        1            $50,135

Senior Assistant PD to Senior CA                      31%            $22,339        4            $89,356

Attorney II PD to CA III                                   33%             $21,775        8             $174,200

Entry Level PD to Entry Level CA                    23%             $12,679        7            $88,753

Office Manager to Office Manager                  107%             $41,668        1            $41,668

            Total “Parity” for Attorneys and Office Manager:                                         $470,112

 

Alternative Proposal: Full Parity for Senior Positions, 20% raise for others

Position                                                           % raise             Amount      #Pos         Total

PD                                                                   22%                 $26,000         1            $26,000

Chief Deputy                                                  58%                 $50,135         1            $50,135          

Senior                                                              20%                 $14384          4            $57,536

Attorney II                                                      20%                 $13,089         8            $104,712

Entry Level                                                     20%                 $11,028        7             $77,196          

Office Manager                                               20%                 $8,314         1             $8,314

            Partial “Parity”:                                                                                               $323,893*

*To make entry levels at each office even, add another $11,557 for total of $335,450.