The Berrien County Board of Commissioners has held off on approving a pay increase for entry-level assistant public defenders while the matter receives more study.
At a meeting this week, commissioners considered a resolution that would have raised the salary for those new public defenders to get them more in line with public defenders in nearby counties. However, Commissioner Bob Harrison, chair of the Personnel and Human Services Committee, pumped the brakes on the wage hike Thursday.
“Chair, I’d like to offer a resolution that we table that resolution pending additional discussion and investigation by the PHS Committee,” Harrisons said.
We’re told other departments in the county have made inquiries about the pay increase proposed for public defenders, something Harrison indicated in his remarks.
“Since the proposal was initially considered, we’ve received other input from other departments at the county. So we’d like to put all the information ahead, consider it at one time.”
The Berrien County Public Defender’s Office has been struggling with a shortage of attorneys.
Commissioners have put the pay increase on hold while County Administrator Brian Dissette looks into the questions raised by other departments.
