WARREN — The Trumbull County Commissioners approved the renewal of a contract with the Ohio Public Defenders Office to provide legal services to indigent residents needing legal representation in the county and municipal courts.

The new one-year contract, which begins July 1 and goes through June 30, 2027, is for $4,203,918. The state will provide $3,428,662, which is 80% of the cost. Trumbull County will provide the remaining $775,256 for the services.

The state’s share of the contract has been reduced from 82% to 80% in the current contract proposal. The county’s 20% share will be paid in four equal installments of $193,814, beginning July 1. The final three payments will be due Oct. 1, Jan. 5, 2027 and April 1, 2027.

The contract represents an overall increase in the amount paid for indigent legal services. However, this year the Ohio Public Defenders Office is applying a $65,528 fund balance carryover and reserve credit to offset the county’s share, resulting in a 2.4% decrease.

“We currently have 13 full-time public defenders and 23 contract attorneys,” Laura Berzonski, the managing public defender of the Trumbull office, said. “The number of cases we represented in 2025 has remained relatively stable (in 2026). We are not anticipating hiring any new attorneys.”

Trumbull County’s public defenders office branch provides representation for all county municipal courts, including Warren, Girard, Niles and Newton Falls, as well as the county’s Eastern District Court in Brookfield, Central District Court in Cortland, and the Common Pleas general division and juvenile courts.

Commissioners allowed Berzonski to add a social worker to her staff last year. Under the contract, Trumbull’s public defenders office and its contract attorneys will provide services for 1,265 felony, 5,160 misdemeanor and 300 juvenile cases.

Members of the Ohio Public Defenders Office have represented indigent Trumbull County defendants for more than 42 years.