COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County has spent roughly $30,000 more on conflict public defenders this year than during the same period last year.

The jump in cost might be justified, said Commissioner Jai Nelson, to adequately compensate public defenders who take on needy, conflict-of-interest cases for the county.

"It might be that this is just the reality," Nelson said.

As of March 15, the county had spent $64,591 on contracted conflict attorneys this year. By that date in 2012, the county had only spent $36,170.

The rise follows a change in pay structure for conflict public defenders.

Last fall, the county implemented a new system compensating contracted attorneys at an hourly rate, based on the difficulty of each case, instead of the previous flat monthly fee.

"It's basically a flat rate these attorneys received every month, whether you had zero cases or you name it," Nelson said of why the prior compensation was unfair.

Attracting conflict attorneys proved difficult under the old pay structure, she added, as many complained the positions were underpaid.

"It's not enough for the conflict workload," Nelson said.

With the new pay structure, the number of contracted conflict attorneys has swelled from three to 15, each hired and assigned pay rates by a judicial panel led by Judge John Mitchell.

Among the contracted is attorney Michael Palmer, who had previously resigned from a county contract over compensation concerns.

"The attorneys were grossly underfunded," Palmer said of the prior system. "What they were doing dated way back to the '80s or before. It was long overdue for there to be an update to the system."

John Adams, chief public defender at the county, also supported the change in pay structure.

"It was long overdue," he said.

But the commissioners are still weighing the new cost to the county, Nelson said.

"I think we knew it was going to cost more," she said of the new structure. "I think we also knew our current system probably was inappropriate and inadequate."

To take a closer look, the commissioners voted on Tuesday to conduct a comprehensive study of the public defense delivery system in the county.

The commissioners hope to receive recommendations on improving both the in-house and conflict defense process, Nelson stated.

"We just need to look at it," Nelson said. "Is there a balance of what can be the most workable solution?"

The comprehensive study is expected to be completed by next fall.

Under the prior pay structure, conflict public defenders were paid a lump sum of either $1,625 or $3,250.

Now, they are paid by the hour. Complex criminal cases pay $95 an hour, conventional criminal cases $85 an hour, and child protection and juvenile matters $75 an hour.

If taxpayers want to see the cost of public defense lower, Palmer said, the answer might require a big-picture look at the criminal justice system.

Maybe if certain activities were reduced from misdemeanors to just infractions, the attorney said, there would be fewer cases for public defenders to take on.

"That sort of thing is highly expensive for the taxpayers," Palmer said.