SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Commission will continue discussions about possibly increasing the hourly pay for court appointed attorneys during its meeting Tuesday.

On May 2, the Commission tabled a request to increase the hourly pay. Third District Court Judge Suzannah Robinson said during that meeting the pay for attorneys who are appointed to serve as a parent’s attorney in juvenile matters, patient attorneys in involuntary hospitalization matters, and other matters required by statute have remained stagnant for many years.

Currently, the attorneys are paid $100 per hour, while local attorney hourly rates are around $200 per hour. Judge Robinson requested the hourly rate for court appointed attorneys be increased to $150 per hour. She said that while they are currently able to find attorneys to work on these cases, the attorneys will not take on too many of the cases due to the rates.

The Commission tabled the decision due to wanting further data regarding how much the county currently pays for court appointed attorneys. Judge Robinson and court personnel have gathered that data, comparing the costs for court appointed attorneys from Fiscal Year 2018 through April 2023.

According to meeting documents, the average costs since fiscal year 2018 is $120,446 for general court appointed attorneys, and $9,968 for mental health court appointed attorneys. This is a annual average of $130,414.

The documents go on to state that if the hourly rates are increased from $100 per hour to $150 per hour, the average annual increase would be $65,207 more a year. The total general court appointed attorney cost would increase to $180,669, and the total mental health court appointed attorney cost would increase to $14,952. This gives a projected total annual cost of $195,621.

The Commission will review these numbers and will consider approval of the hourly pay increase.

Other Business

The County Commission will also hear an update from Land Use Director Eric Bingham on comments for the Buckboard Marina Special Use Permit boundary line realignment.

The proposed adjustment to the marina’s boundary would remove water acreage and add areas of land to the east and south, including part of the South Buckboard area that is currently used for dispersed camping. The adjustment would also increase the permittee’s authorized acreage by 3 acres, increasing it from 77 acres to 80 acres, which is the maximum acreage allowed.

Last month several residents expressed their concerns regarding the boundary line realignment during a county commission meeting. Many county residents said they were worried access to the Flaming Gorge and the land in this area would become limited.

The Commission sent a letter to the Ashley National Forest asking for the public scoping period to be extended, which was granted. Initially the public scoping was supposed to end April 21, but was extended to Friday, May 19.

The Sweetwater County Commission will also select the recipients and alternates for the Class of 2023 County Commissioners Scholarship during its meeting Tuesday. The scholarship awards $1,000 each to three students attending either the University of Wyoming or another Wyoming college. The Commission will select the three students to receive the scholarships, as well as three alternates.

The Commission will meet Tuesday, May 16, at 9 a.m. at the Sweetwater County Courthouse. To view the full meeting agenda and packet, click here.