Committee discusses filling public defender's position

The decision of whether to keep Havre's public defender for another year was postponed by the Havre City Council's Finance Committee on Wednesday night because of uncertainties about whether the city already advertised for bids for the job.

The committee met with attorney Jim Spangelo, who has been Havre's public defender for about 20 years, to receive his proposal for next year's services. Spangelo proposed to do the job for $19,278 for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Spangelo is being paid $17,000 to do the job this year. The public defender handles about 100 cases a year, he said.

He said...