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Flat Monthly Fee Proposed for Court-Appointed Attorney's

By Greg Bebermeyer

04/23/2012

The Brown County Commission has received a proposal that would change how court-appointed attorney’s are paid in the county.
Attorney’s Andy Delaney and Judd Herbster today ( Monday) proposed that instead of working on a case-by-case basis for a fee established by the court, they contract with the county for a flat monthly fee to handle the same case load.
Under the proposal, Delaney and Herbster would each be paid $2,200 a month. In addition, Attorney Paul Kloepper with Kansas Legal Services would be paid $1,000 a month. The total contract would be for $64,800 and would run from May of this year through May of next year.
Delaney noted the county saw a more than 86 percent increase in expenses for court-appointed services from 2009 to 2011. He said the contract would represent a nearly 2.4 percent increase over last year’s expenses.
Herbster said he thinks the flat monthly rate would provide a win-win for both sides ( play audio: 33 secs )
Delaney said Atchison County is currently using the flat monthly rate system and he believes it would work well for Brown County...
( play audio: 23 secs )
Brown County District Court Clerk Lela Smith-Middendorf presented budget numbers, stating that the District Court budget would have to be increased to account for the flat monthly rate.
Commissioners will get the input of County Attorney Kevin Hill before making a decision.

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