Prosecutor From:
Joe Huster [Joe.Huster@hcpros.org]
Sent:
Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:05 AM
To:
Anderson, Lisa; Bruggen, John
Cc:
Jim Harper; Sigman, Christian
Subject: 2012 Gen Fd Budget Impact Statement This email will serve as the Prosecuting Attorney's Gen Fd Forecast Budget Impact Statement. The Prosecutor's Office consists of the Criminal Division, Civil Division, and the Family Law Division. The Criminal Division, which handles Common Pleas, Municipal, Juvenile, and Appellate cases is supported by the General Fund. The Civil Division receives approximately 40% of funding from the Delinquent Real Estate Fund. The Family Law Division is almost entirely funded through contracts with the Department of Jobs & Family Services. Non-personnel costs of the office are minor, and have been reduced to minimum acceptable levels over the past several years. The 2012 Gen Fd Forecast Budget of $8,459,330 represents a reduction of approximately $3M from our 2011 anticipated expenditures and our 2012 budget request. A shortfall of this magnitude would require a lay-off of approximately 50 Criminal Division attorneys, assuming a salary of $50,000 with benefits. This drastic cut would prohibit us from fulfilling our statutory duties and would significantly impact our ability to successfully prosecute criminals. Current caseloads for Criminal Division attorneys are considered high compared to similar sized jurisdictions in Ohio and nationwide. Fewer attorneys would increase caseloads, thereby exacerbating the workload problem. Increased workloads would undoubtly lead to trial delays and eventually dismissals because of the failure to meet trial deadlines required by statute. In addition, the prosecution of cases making it to trial would be less effective because of decreased trial preparation resulting from increased workloads. As provided in the ORC, the Prosecutor's 2012 budget will be submitted to the Court of Common Pleas for approval. We will continue to cooperate with the BOCC to achieve overall County goals.
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