In Flagler, the council's [sic] request included hiring an additional staff member, Hadeed said Friday.
"We contend that even if the law were constitutional, which we claim it is not, payment of salaries clearly is not the obligation of counties," Hadeed said.
"Council" above should have been written "counsel".
Here is the larger context of that quote:
The Florida Association of Counties met Wednesday and opted to move forward with the suit, which was a stipulation Flagler commissioners attached before agreeing to join. Association members also decided that Flagler and other small Florida counties can get on board for a one-time cost of $500....[snip]...The association's lawsuit questions the constitutionality of an unfunded state mandate relating to indigent legal representation, or court-provided public defenders. Recent state legislation is requiring counties to contribute to a newly created entity, the Regional Conflict Counsel, by paying for office space, utilities, office equipment, security and maintenance.
And this from Broward:
A new, obscure state agency that helps represent the poor in court has rented offices on posh Las Olas Boulevard and wants Broward County taxpayers to pick up the $416,000- a-year tab.
County commissioners, forced to reduce services to provide property tax relief, refuse to pay the rent and ordered their attorneys to join other counties in a lawsuit.
Comments: $416k each and every year is a lot of money. Call me a rube, or worse if you'd like, but I wouldn't be going down that road were I the RC. The OCCCRCs are designed for failure in the first place, however unintentionally, and only creativity and innovation will allow any of them to succeed. So since most of the attorneys are in court all the time anyway, why not buy a building in a less expensive, but still relatively central location, and make it work with shared offices, telecommuting, etc. Only the paralegals and whoever answers the phones need to be in the office most days. The RC himself (I would say him or herself, but there aren't any hers occupying those offices) should be out riding the circuit, in my opinion, or else on the phone or at meetings with judges and the like, none of which requires one inch of full time office space.
Oh, and my second comment: Why weren't newspapers writing about this "obscure" state agency before the legislation creating it passed?
4 comments:
Right, where were they then? And where were they when they CUT the experienced attorneys out of the field? If there are problems with the Regional Counsel then it MUST be made known!!! The counties are doing the right thing, but the PROBLEMS of the agency MUST be revealed. The "people" need to know how much $$$ is being wasted and how parents rights are being affected.
Any new government agency is bound to have some problems in the beginning. But the Regional Counsel Offices aren't going anywhere as the Florida Legislature wants to see this new system succeed. Constantly complaining about it serves no purpose. And if experienced attorneys are in fact being cut out of the field, isn't that an argument the system is at least saving money not wasting it?
You are right - complaining just for the sake of complaining would make no sense...However, putting inexperienced attorneys (in some cases NO experience) in Dependency/TPR cases without training is just plain criminal. OUR tax money is being wasted on pricey rent, "administration" and supervisors. The money would be better spent on hiring experienced attorneys and establishing an education and training program!!! Florida's families depend on it. Government representation should NOT equal inadequate representation. DCF will now be completely in charge and parents' rights will be eroded. The Regional Counsel Office is top heavy, expensive, inexperienced and will NOT last. Not a complaint - a prediction.
I don't mean to sound overly sensitive -- I hope I don't, but being the one blog passing on news articles about a brand new state agency is not "constantly complaining".
I'm pretty sure no one actually reads what I write, so it ought not matter either way.
Post a Comment