The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors approved a roughly $60,000 bump to the indigent legal defense budget on Tuesday after a homicide trial and several other unusual cases this year have left it nearly empty.

County Administrative Officer Rick Benson’s agenda item said the change, which will come from the County’s general contingency, had to be made to fund the “extraordinary expenses” this year. “Expenditures for several line items within the indigent defense budge have exceeded budgeted amounts,” Benson wrote. If the board had not approved the additional funding, the Mariposa County Superior Court would be unable to submit invoices to the auditor for payment because of insufficient funds.

The County is required to pro- vide indigent defense services under the law. Benson said the expenses are “beyond the control of the County” and are ordered by the superior court judges. Mariposa County contracts with three attorneys for these services, which are similar to those provided by a public defenders office in other counties. The contract does not cover homicide cases, and sometimes the judges must order a different attorney who is not part of the contract because of conflicts of interest with the contracted lawyers.

The amount originally budgeted for indigent defense was $442,924. The change adds another $60,313 to the budget, making the total cost for legal fees for those who cannot afford an attorney over $500,000 this year alone.

The change is the result of more than $10,000 in medical evaluations, some $59,168 in conflict counsel and another $23,970 in investigations. The County shifted funds from court-appointed counsel, conflict investigation and child defense to make the contingency contribution of $60,313.

In another budget action, the supervisors approved an increase of $26,000 to the airport fund as a result of the Fixed Base Operator (FBO) contract. A condition of the contract was that the County provide a full fuel tank on the effective date of the agreement. In return, the FBO is required to provide a full fuel tank at the end of the agreement.

Staff had originally budgeted to fill the fuel tank at the beginning of the new fiscal year, but because the agreement took place in June, funding must come from the previous fiscal year.

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