Middle Circuit Public Defender Refunds over $100,000 to Local County Governments

Middle Circuit Public Defender Jim Collins (right) presents
a refund check for $19,517.17 to Mr. William Rabun of the Jefferson County Commission. (photo courtesy The News and Farmer)

The Georgia Public Defender Standards Council is pleased to announce that earlier this month, the Middle Circuit Public Defender Office was able to return about $110,000 to county governments in the Middle Judicial Circuit after finishing the fiscal year under budget. The public defender office’s original budget request asked the county commissions in the circuit to maintain funding for indigent defense for the 2005 fiscal year at the same level as the previous year’s budget. The budget request was awarded with the condition that any extra money be returned to the counties at the end of the fiscal year.

“I told the commissioners that I couldn’t promise there would be a refund every year,” stated Middle Circuit public defender Jim Collins, “but I pledged to run my office as efficiently as possible and return any county money that was not spent.”

GPDSC’s director Michael Mears added, “The council is committed to providing the best quality legal representation possible, however, everyone in the public defender system is also committed to being fiscally responsible. Jim Collins has done an excellent job in this regard and because of his hard work and dedication his office was able to save money for the counties in his circuit without sacrificing quality. This is another example of how the state wide public defender system is working, and working well.”