SALEM – Gov. Deval Patrick’s plan to replace hiring private lawyers with a core of young, salaried public defenders to represent indigent offenders is catching criticism from opponents.The elimination of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) system was unveiled by Patrick on Monday, with the notion of using a newly created system, the Department of Public Counsel Services, which is estimated to save taxpayers $45 million annually.”Until we see the details of the plan, I cannot see how a proposal that would add 1,000 attorneys and support staff would end up costing less,” said CPCS Chief Counsel Anthony Benedetti. “With benefits and pensions, it couldn’t possibly save any money?unless the idea is to throw quality by the wayside.”Benedetti said he believes the plan fails to take into account other expenses such as health and malpractice insurance that the state currently doesn’t pay for.”We’re also talking about displacing 3,000 small business people who contribute to local economies with buying supplies and renting spaces,” he said. “In some sense, this is an economic jobs issue.”In a press release, Patrick’s office said the reliance on contracted employees comes at a significant cost to taxpayers, especially since the private bar advocates defend 90 percent of the annual case load.”We need a better, most cost-effective system, and this proposal gets us that,” Patrick said.Patrick’s office said the reform will bring Massachusetts in line with 28 other states that currently administer the indigent criminal defense through an agency with executive branch oversight. Massachusetts is one of only six states that currently places its public defender agency in the judicial branch.Benedetti, who has worked at CPCS since 1991, disagreed, saying the plan would most likely hurt the state in the long run.”And at the same time, it will blow up a system that by all means is a model system,” he said. “I’m not saying change doesn’t need to be made, we’ve been talking about change for years, but this doesn’t make sense because we’re talking about totally dismantling the program.”Citing inherent conflicts in the plan, Benedetti stressed that it’s simply the wrong time to make such a shake up.”This is coming as a new way to meet the massive budget hole, but it’s not the answer,” he said. “It would affect the quality of representation.”Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez said the change will have the opposite effect on the state, resulting in greater accountability and program integrity. Patrick’s newly created department would be tasked with assuming responsibility for the indigency verification process, currently administered by the Probation Department, along with tightening that process to make sure only those who are income-eligible for free defense counsel receive those services.Because of that, the department’s case load is predicted to actually decrease with the increase of controls of the eligibility determination and re-determination process.”In the face of the state’s new fiscal reality, we must change the way government does business to ensure we are stretching every taxpayer dollar as far as possible,” Gonzalez said.