Greene County board appoints Stewart as chief public defender
The Greene County Board of Commissioners named a point person from the firm hired last month to run the county’s public defender’s office.
At its Thursday meeting, the board appointed Marissa Stewart, an attorney with Pollock Morris Belletti & Simms, as chief public defender, effective Nov. 3.
The board voted to hire the firm on a provisional basis last month. With Thursday’s vote, the firm will now serve as the county’s long-term hire in the position, said County Clerk Jeff Marshall.
Thursday, the commissioners also approved a modification request for the grant providing support in the public defender’s office. Marshall said the request was being changed from an additional attorney to covering costs for the legal staff.
Stewart replaces Harry Cancelmi, who had served as the county’s chief public defender for 29 years before dying in September.
Stewart had previously worked in the public defender’s office under Cancelmi.
“She was the one that originally wrote that grant, too,” said Chairman Jared Edgreen. “So for that reason, it’s good to have her come back and administer that.”
The remaining member of the public defender office, Assistant Public Defender Mark Kovach, resigned, effective Oct. 17.
Annually, Cancelmi was paid $107,794.18, and Kovach was paid $64,452.18.
Four members of the firm will work in the public defender’s office on a part-time basis. The contract with the county also lists Adam Belletti as deputy public defender, while David Pollock and Olyvia Adkins will serve as assistant public defenders.
Under the terms of the contract, the county will pay the firm $250,000 a year annually based on 300 cases per year being assigned to the firm. For additional cases, the firm would accept assignments at a rate of $60 per hour.
Board Chair Jared Edgreen said the contract would save the county an estimated $30,000 a year in spending for the public defender’s office compared to the previous budget.
Edgreen said Stewart had already been working extensively in the office with the firm.
“There’s a lot of backlogged cases that she’s got to go through administratively, but she has a great plan to make it run more efficiently,” he said.