The Utah County Commission is happy with the law firm handling the county's public defender contract, but at least one commissioner isn't so sure the firm deserves a raise.
The firm of Aldrich, Nelson, Weight & Esplin, which received $175,000 for the current contact, has submitted a bid of $200,000 for the same contract next year. The Jay Fitt law firm, in conjunction with the firm of Zabriskie & Patton, submitted a lower bid of $180,000.Commission Chairman Malcolm Beck said the $200,000 bid is "within the scope of what we would intend to pay," and that offering the service in-house likely would cost the county more.
Commissioner Brent Morris, however, said the county shouldn't be so quick to award the bid until the firm offers some type of justification for the $25,000 increase over last year.