Council approves hime in pauper attorney funding
The Daviess County Council approved a hefty increase in funding for pauper attorneys in the Daviess Circuit Court. Just six months into the year Daviess Circuit Court Judge Greg Smith went before the council looking for an increase of $150,000 to cover pauper attorney fees for defendants in his court.
Council President Marilyn McCullough says there are several reasons for the increase.
'They have had more cases than expected this year,' she said. 'They have been through about 240 cases so far this year and they still have a large number to go through.'
Among the issues in circuit court is the change of judge in Daviess Superior Court to former prosecutor Dan Murrie. That has resulted in a slate of cases being kicked to other judges and courts.
'Part of that is that we had a backlog of cases and we are getting caught up on those. Some of those had to be transferred over to Judge Smith because Judge Murrie had been the prosecutor when the cases were filed,' said McCullough. 'Some of those he cannot preside over. We might wind up saving money out of superior court pauper fees.'
Courts around the country and in Daviess County fell behind on many of their cases during the COVID outbreak. While there has been a concerted effort to catch those up, that time is still impacting the courts.
'The judges and prosecutor have done a great job,' said McCullough. 'They are trying to streamline processes and try new things to try and clear the backlog created by COVID.'
McCullough says she feels the county is approaching the end of the backed up cases.
'We expect this additional appropriation to cover the rest of this year,' she said. 'The courts are clearing out these cases and the end appears to be in sight.'
In other business, the council approved a change in the language for the Daviess County Visitor's Bureau form to include questions on number of rooms available and the average daily rate on those rooms.
The council tabled taking any action on the CF-1 reports from businesses that are currently holding tax abatements from the county. Council members were wanting more information to see if the companies are complying with the promises they made to receive those tax breaks.
The council received an update on a plan to use a kiosk to help probationers during the regular check-ins.
They also denied a request for $2,800 in additional funding for inmate needs at the county jail. Daviess County Sheriff Gary Allison said he was hesitant to spend money out of the commissary fund, but will do it that way.
The council also accepted a $28,000 grant from the state of Indiana. Central Dispatch Director Julie Riker said the grant would cover 100% of the cost to upgrade the emergency services mapping system.
'It's not going to cost us any money, so that is great,' said McCullough. 'We do need the update.'
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