Item Text

30. TRANSFER EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY FOR INCREASED PUBLIC DEFENSE SERVICES COSTS Pursuant to A.R.S. § 42-17106B, transfer FY 2012-13 expenditure authority in an amount not-to-exceed $7,000,000 from Non-Departmental (470) General Fund (100) Operating (0000) to the Office of Contract Counsel (560) General Fund (100) Operating (0000). The purpose of the transfer is to cover increased mandated case representation costs. Within the appropriated budget for Non-Departmental, the amount to be transferred will be deducted from Unreserved Contingency. The contingency funding will be used only if a County Manager-authorized transfer of FY 2012-13 year-end General Fund savings from the Offices of the Public Defender (520), Legal Advocate (550), and Public Advocate (570) is insufficient to cover General Fund expenditure deficits of the Legal Defender (540) and the Office of Contract Counsel (560). The Office of the Public Defender projects full-year expenditures of $33,205,089 ($79,286 under budget). The Office of the Legal Advocate projects full-year expenditures of $9,053,678 ($126,000 under budget). The Office of the Public Advocate projects full-year expenditures of $6,533,913 ($286,181 under budget). The Office of the Legal Defender projects full-year expenditures of $10,398,428 ($46,806 over budget). That overrun is the result of mid-year position additions to the Office without an accompanying budget increase. The Office of Contract Counsel projects full-year expenditures of approximately $29M ($6.7M above its FY 2012-13 appropriation). The total anticipated FY 2012-13 overrun, after savings are reallocated from the departments with positive variances, is just over $6.2 million. However, due to the delay in billing from contractors, and the normal monthly variances, an additional $800,000 is requested to be set aside to help ensure full funding is available. Contingency funding will only be utilized if required after financial transfers. Public Defense Service’s (PDS) combined projected FY 2012-13 year-end negative expenditure variance of $6.2 million results from contract attorney expenditures in the Office of Contract Counsel. Those expenditures are driven by increased costs for mandated legal representation. The most significant forecasted negative variances for PDS are: Non-Capital Felony ($3.1M), Capital Trial ($1.3M), Parental Representation ($1.6M), and Juvenile Guardian Ad Litem ($1.2M). Savings from other activities are projected offset a portion of the forecasted overrun. (C-56-13-011-M-00)