To the contract PD's of Cincinnati, my apologies

I guess the pay isn't that good after all:

" (Head P.D. Lou) Strigari has about 30 employees in his office -- the same number he's had for a decade -- and a $10 million annual budget. Those employees, though, mostly handle misdemeanor cases. The felony cases are handled by private attorneys who are appointed to the cases by judges and can charge no more than $40 per hour for their work."

What is the deal with managing a public defense system this way?