Utah County commissioners approved a contract Monday ensuring that the county will have public defenders for 1992.
Included in the new contract was an agreement to pay Legal Defenders Association of Utah County $290,000 for 1992, with an agreement that the association hire an additional public defender.Although the cost to the county will increase $50,000 from previous years, Commissioner Gary Herbert said the new public defender is needed.
"Their (current defenders') workloads have increased significantly, and this increase is very justified," he said. According to statistics presented in the meeting, the caseload for public defenders increased 36 percent in 1991.
The contract also requires a report be submitted by the public defenders' office every six months. The reports will outline the number and type of cases handled, the hours spent and the disposition of each case.
Failure to supply the report to the county will be considered a breech of contract.