Prosecutor wants additional staffing in 2022
May 10—ANDERSON — In preparation for the 2022 budget hearings, the Madison County Prosecutor's Office is requesting a staffing survey be undertaken.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Hanna sent a letter Thursday to members of the Madison County Council, Madison County Board of County Commissioners, Chief Judge David Happe and Bryan Williams, chief public defender, outlining the intention of requesting more staff and funding.
Hanna said the last survey was completed in 2013. He said Prosecutor Rodney Cummings requested additional deputies and received the funding for two.
The office is requesting funding to hire four additional deputy prosecutors and two investigators.
Hanna said the office has applied for a federal grant to partially pay for a domestic abuse and sex crimes deputy.
Currently the office has 13 full-time and four part-time prosecutors.
"We want the independent survey done before the budget process begins," Hanna said. "We need help now."
The survey will be asked to look at caseload by volume and the severity of the cases.
The best option, he said, for determining the need is the caseloads established by the state for full-time public defenders.
"A public defender can handle 100 felony cases in a year," Hanna said. "Our major felony deputies have over 100 cases open right now."
He said a public defender can handle 300 misdemeanor cases in a year and Deputy Prosecutor Rosemary Khoury currently has between 4,000 and 6,000 cases.
"What has to be considered is the severity of the violent and sex crimes in Madison County," Hanna said. "Our caseloads should be lower because we have the burden of proof and work with Kids Talk, law enforcement agencies and the Indiana Department of Child Services."
The letter states since 2015 the office has used $1.8 million in discretionary funds to supplement salaries, fund trials and conduct jury trials.
"We want the council to hire additional staff," Hanna said. "We can no longer supplement the salaries."
Cummings said earlier this year that the office is the most underfunded in the state for counties with a population greater than 100,000 and that it needs funding from the general fund to operate.
Hanna said Madison County is ranked sixth of Indiana's 92 counties when it comes to major felony crimes and is third in the state for sending offenders to prison.
In April, the Madison County Council agreed to cover the shortfall in diversion money going to the office.
The council approved $59,196 from the county's general fund to cover the budgeted salaries for 17 positions in the prosecutor's office.
Also approved was $75,098 from the CARES Act fund to cover expenses in the prosecutor's office that had been paid with the diversion program funds.
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.
