LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is set to discuss proposals for a new public defender’s contract.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 28, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/calendar.htm . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
In an item set for 9:10 a.m., the board will consider a request from county administrative staff on negotiating public defender contract proposals.
County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson’s report to the board explains that the current public defense contractor, Lake Defense Inc., has given notice, with the last day of the contract set for May 6.
“As the County is constitutionally mandated to provide Public Defender Services, our office issued a Request for Proposals to secure a new contractor,” Huchingson wrote.
She said the county received three proposals and interviewed representatives from each of the three
proposers: Lake Indigent Defense, based in Lake County and led by attorneys David Markham and Andrea Sullivan, who work in the current defense contract; the Law Office of Joseph M. Ahart Inc. of Redding; and Richard A. Ciummo & Associates of Madera County.
Huchingson is proposing that the board direct staff to begin negotiations with Ahart, who offered the lowest bid at $1.3 million, which Huchingson called “the most comprehensive and cost effective of the three.”
Ahart currently is a public defense contractor in Shasta County and contracts with the Shasta County Superior Court to provide and administer court-appointed legal representation in all juvenile dependency actions.
Lake Indigent Defense’s proposal cost was just $20,000 more than Ahart’s, and Ciummo’s came in at $1.4 million, with expected increases in the second year of nearly $58,000 and about $60,000 in the third year.
Ahead of the meeting, concerns are being raised by the district attorney and local defense attorneys about the sufficiency of Ahart’s proposal.
The proposal includes providing a total of four felony defense attorneys and three attorneys for misdemeanor and juvenile delinquency cases.
The Lake Defense contract with the county of December 2014 called for eight felony attorneys, four misdemeanor attorneys, two attorneys for juvenile delinquency cases and two experienced investigators. The number of felony attorneys was set to be reduced to seven after September 2016; it had been temporarily raised due to a high number of homicide cases.
Alternately, Lake Indigent Defense is proposing seven felony attorneys and five misdemeanor attorneys, based on the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals’ recommendations.
Lake Indigent Defense’s proposal also calls for two attorneys for juvenile cases, and one attorney each for conservatorships, family law (paternity actions and civil contempt cases), appeals and writs, and veterans court.
Ciummo’s proposal suggests eight attorneys, two investigators and two clerical staff, plus four independent contract attorneys to cover conflicts.
Ahart’s proposal also says there will not be additional county costs for legal counsel regarding conflicts of interest. His contract proposal, however, does not cover representation for death penalty cases or cases including extraordinary time or expert consultants and witnesses. The Lake Indigent Defense proposal includes capital case coverage.
In a letter submitted late last week to the board, defense attorney Tom Quinn asked the supervisors to instead begin negotiations with Lake Indigent Defense.
Quinn, who has worked as a public defender in Lake County since 2003, called Ahart’s proposal “a step backward in the provision of legal representation to indigent persons, a right guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment.”
He compared Ahart’s proposal to the model used by the Indigent Representation Administration, which the board replaced in 2005 after the grand jury issued a scathing report on its services. That organization had fewer attorneys, and Quinn recalled being swamped with 100 cases. He said the big reform that came out of the IRA’s replacement was more attorneys.
In his letter, Quinn noted, “the model proposed by Ahart is simply unacceptable, a huge step backwards to the set-up this Board rightly rejected over a decade ago, a paradigm that simply did not pass Constitutional muster, but that sadly all too many jurisdictions are burdened with due to financial constraints.”
In other business, in an untimed item, the board will consider an update from Sheriff Brian Martin reporting that the sheriff’s main office at 1220 Martin St. will return to normal business hours as of Monday.
Martin reported to the board that in February and April 2016 he received approval from the board to reduce hours on Mondays from 1 to 5 p.m. due to Records Division staffing, with the closure to remain in effect until the agency hired and trained sufficient law enforcement records technicians.
“This closure has helped greatly,” said Martin, noting they have enough records technicians hired and trained to staff the Records Division and at the same time meet the legal requirements to process reports for the District Attorney’s Office.
As a result, he said the main office will resume normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2017-29 and Resolution No. 2016-144 to amend the FY 2016-17 Budget by adjusting revenues and appropriations.
7.2: Approve the second amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Catholic Charities for Specialty Mental Health Services provided at St. Vincent School for Boys for fiscal year 2016-17 for an increase of $25,000 for a new contract maximum of $110,000; and authorize the chair to sign.
7.3: Approve the first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Manzanita House for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2016-17 for a decrease of $14,000 for a new contract maximum of $106,450; and authorize the chair to sign.
7.4: Approve the first amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Clover Valley Guest Home for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2016-17 for the amount of $59,760; and authorize the chair to sign.
7.5: Approve the second amendment to the agreement between the county of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health for adult residential support and specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2016-17 for an increase of $320,000 for a new contract maximum of $870,00 and authorize the board chair sign the amendment.
7.6: Approve minutes of the board of supervisors meeting held Dec. 6, 2016, and March 14, 2017.
7.7: Waive the 900 hour limit for certain janitorial positions within the Department of Social Services.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:10 a.m.: Consideration of request for board direction on negotiating public defender contract proposals.
8.3, 10 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County Housing Commission, public hearing for Section 8 Administrative Plan changes.
UNTIMED ITEM
9.1: (a) Consideration of resolution amending Resolution No. 2016-145 Establishing Position Allocations for Fiscal Year 2016-2017, Budget Unit No. 5011, Department of Social Services; (b) consideration of resolution amending Resolution No. 2017-28 and Resolution No. 2016-145 Establishing Position Allocations for Fiscal Year 2016-2017, Budget Unit No. 4014, Department of Behavioral Health; and (c) consideration of appointment of interim Behavioral Health director to Behavioral Health administrator/acting behavioral health director.
9.2: Consideration of notification by the sheriff's department to reinstate open office hours for Mondays.
CLOSED SESSION
10.2: Conference with Legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Lakeside Heights HOA, et al. v. County of Lake, et al.
10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Loberg v. County of Lake, et al.
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Supervisors to discuss proposals for new public defender contract
- Elizabeth Larson
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