Government
BY EMILY LINCKE & NICHAELA SHAHEEN
Commissioners approve contract defender program
Precinct 4 to create master parks plan Montgomery County Precinct 4 officials are hoping to develop a master parks plan by the end of the year. In a nutshell Precinct 4 has acquired pockets of land that county leaders are hoping to revamp into parks using grants from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Precinct 4 Chief of Staff Josh Pascua said July 25. “We want to try to see what we can do to provide additional green space for folks for recreation,” Pascua said. To qualify for the grants, the precinct must create a master parks plan, which includes community input, Pascua said. Precinct 4 launched a survey July 23 that included questions on park use, quality, safety and amenities.
Montgomery County Commissioners Court approved a new misdemeanor contract defender program during its July 15 meeting. The program, set to launch in fiscal year 2025-26, is expected to increase consistency in court-appointed representation and reduce excess costs, said Wendy Little, the director of the Office of Indigent Defense. What this means The new contract aims to improve predictability and cost efficiency for indigent representation, Little said. She said this model would reduce duplicative costs by switching from a per-case to a per- defendant pay structure. She said there will be no changes to the payment for probable cause court, and the contract will only impact misdemeanor offenses. Diving in deeper County Budget Officer Amanda Carter said the
New contract changes cost structure 3 county courts 21 attorneys shared across courts 130 cases per attorney $65,000 annual cost per attorney
SOURCE: MONTGOMERY COUNTY/COMMUNITY IMPACT
new plan is expected to result in a “very conserva- tive” estimate of $40,000 in savings and possibly more. Carter said year-to-date the county has spent slightly over $4.4 million in appointed attorneys for criminal cases, $635,000 for civil court cases and almost $200,000 for juvenile cases, which includes felony, appeals and probate. Carter said the county budgets about $7.5 million annually.
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