Officials increase defenders' office rent

Expansion of office space to accommodate more court-appointed lawyers out of the Area 32 Missouri State Public Defender (MSPD) office in Jackson means an amended and more expensive lease is required.

Starting Jan. 1, the county's rent agreement with Nabors Land Developers, which leases the now-larger offices at 2360 N. High St. to the state, will increase from $50,000 to $80,000 annually.

The Jackson office handles caseloads for Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Mississippi, Perry, Scott and Stoddard counties.

Rent payments will be assessed to the individual counties on a pro-rated basis according to population, said 2nd District Commissioner Charlie Herbst.

Cape County is the most populous of the counties in Area 32.

First District Commissioner Paul Koeper reminded attendees at Thursday's commission meeting the state requires office space be provided to Missouri's public defenders.

Thanks to a bill passed May 7 by the Missouri General Assembly, 53 additional public defenders were hired statewide -- addressing a long-term shortage.

The local MSPD office has grown by one-third from 12 to 18 attorneys. Three of the six public barristers are new while three others were reassigned from MSPD Area 35 office in Kennett, Missouri.

"Our offices are historically understaffed," state MSPD director Mary Fox told the Southeast Missourian in June. "Staff complement was put in place in the 1990s, and the number of attorneys has remained pretty stable, while cases requiring a public defender have significantly increased."

Other action

• Commissioners signed a proclamation declaring October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Cape Girardeau County.
• The county's prescription drug-monitoring program user agreement with the St. Louis County Department of Public Health was renewed. Presiding Commissioner Clint Tracy said the Missouri Legislature's passage this spring of the PDMP bill, long championed by state Sen. Holly Rehder of Scott City (R-27), may bring changes in how Cape County addresses PDMP in the future.