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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 Budget Narrative Prosecutor KITTITAS COUNTY PROSECUTOR 2026 BUDGET NARRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Civil Division! • Civil division coordinated Kittitas County hosting an AG PRA Basic Training for all PROs and ROs in the County. • Risk Manager worked with KCCC and WCRP to host the ELSI Corrections Legal Update training which is a regional offering promoted to Law Enforcement Agencies around the state. • The Risk Team worked to get the WCRP's Vehicle Collision checklist updated (formerly said "Accident Checklist"). • Risk Manager facilitated and conducted the WCRP site visit with KCCC. • Risk Manager worked with the County to update the 2026 Underwriting Surveys for Liability and Crime insurance, as well as submitting the Cyber application for IT for the 2026 cycle. • Risk Manager will be working with Maintenance and other departments/offices to conduct the Phase III building appraisals, which will occur this summer. • Risk Manager will work with the County to renew insurance certificates for the entire County (around September/October). • KCCC received State accreditation and Risk Manager reported this information to WCRP. • Risk Manager has distributed many scholarship opportunities, as provided by WCRP, to the County family. • Risk Manager has sent monthly emails to the County Management Team showing all available trainings from the major State presenters/providers, including WCRP, to encourage employee training. 1 This is a list containing many of the notable accomplishments of the Civil Division from the past year, but it does not reflect all of the work completed as it is not feasible to record and quantify the countless conversations, meetings,court hearings, phone calls,emails,and other daily work done by staff in support of the civil function of the Prosecutor's Office. • Risk Manager has also sent many training emails that are department specific (mostly to KCSO as LE generally is a large risk to Counties), to encourage employee training. • Risk Manager worked with KCCC and WCRP through a Risk Reduction Grant to obtain safety equipment (WRAP Safety Restraint with Protective Helmet (2) and SRI Shield (1). • Provided support and ongoing legal review of new policies, programs and contracts while discussing legal issues with clients to expand knowledge and understanding. • Advised, reviewed or appeared on at least 33 code enforcement cases. • Finalized an 8-year abatement litigation (MRT), including obtaining and collecting on the $494,947.16 judgment. • Finalized a highly contentious, 5-year abatement litigation (Benson Property), and obtained a $16,781 judgment. • Litigated a code enforcement matter that has been open with CDS for 12 years (Ranch Properties). Waiting on the Judge's order. • Met with CDS to discuss and remedy issues with our zoning code and associated complaints made by members of the county. • Met with the law library committee to discuss the status of the library, plans for the library and committee, and the annual report. • Reviewed approximately 12 special event applications to ensure the applicants have satisfactory insurance for their events. • Prepared an informative notice for special event applicants to clearly inform them of the prerequisite requirements to obtain a permit. • Reviewed and advised maintenance on many contracts, bidding questions, leases, sales, purchases, property improvements, ect. • Reviewed and advised solid waste on many contracts, bidding questions, leases, sales, purchases, property improvements, determining obligations pertaining to broken equipment/property, fee questions, ect. • Worked with the Treasurer's office to review credit card fee agreements used by each department to ensure statutory compliance. • Assisted and appeared for the Assessor in State Board Tax Appeals and Tax Appeals in Superior Court. • Reviewed Ballot Titles. • Reviewed and edited many resolutions prepared by many different departments. • Reviewed, renewed, and/or edited 7 Noxious Weed contracts. • Approximately 723 Contested Infraction cases were entered and managed in PbK, including sending discovery packets and offer grids to defense attorneys. A DPA either appeared and/or entered an agreed order for these cases. • Appeared and argued RALJ appeals in Superior Court. • Reviewed and offered advisement on updating our County codes. • Assisted the Superior Court Clerk with Legal Financial Obligation refund questions. • Assisted the Treasurer's office in ascertaining parameters on payment plans options and policies. • Assisted the Treasurer's office in internal abatement/special assessment collection policies. • Reviewed/edited many RFPs and RFQs. • Multiple executive sessions with the BOCC to obtain direction on code enforcement cases. • Risk management featured on the County's website with access to key forms. • DPA selected to serve on the Washington Counties Risk Pool Underwriting Committee. • Hosted the Washington Counties Risk Pool to evaluate the county courthouse building. • Training attended by all levels of staff for continue education on risk management. • Filed Tax Delinquency Action against parcel owners who have failed to pay property taxes. • County is proceeding on claims against those who damaged county property. Criminal Division The criminal division of the PA's office strives to serve our community by prosecuting criminal cases in ethical and innovative ways through cooperative teamwork and commitment to individual growth and personal responsibility. Below, please see the highlights from our division from September 1, 2024 - August 31, 2025. Superior Court: • The felony team charged 252 adult felony cases • 355 new felony cases were submitted to our office for review. • There were several notable convictions for our general felony prosecutors including the First-Degree Murder trial of Benjamin Castizo, several Vehicular Homicide cases, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and several Drug Sales cases. • Our 3/10 funded team secured several important convictions this year as well: o For Domestic Violence felonies, Mr. Babock was sentenced to thirty-six months in prison for repeatedly violating court-imposed no contact orders. Mr. Burright was sentenced to 54 months for repeated violations of his no contact order; a restitution order for a domestic violence victim of$135,162.84 in a lengthy contested court process that included court enforcement. o For sex assault/abuse felonies: Dean Perham was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 98 months to life for three counts of child molestation with three separate victims; Mr. Kemper was sentenced for decades after trial for Rape in the Second Degree, Indecent Liberties, Delivery of Controlled Substances to the victim (two counts), and Furnishing Liquor to minors for his crimes against a very vulnerable teenager; Mr. Meyers was sentenced to twenty-three years for possession and delivery of child sexual abuse materials and Rape in the Third Degree; Brent Jones sentenced to sixty months sentence for Rape of a Child in the Third Degree (three counts) in a case where he absconded from custody and was brought back to Washington for California while his case was pending; Mr. Camrata was sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of 75 - 120 months prison for dealing in child sexual abuse materials; Mr. Lednum sentenced to 34 months prison and three years of community custody for Rape of the Chile in the Third Degree and Furnishing Liquor to Minors. • There have been many drug court successes, particularly of defendants charged with domestic violence offenses; a category of cases that were previously excluded from drug court drug court. o graduates in the past year. • The felony division also litigated twelve felony appeals including briefs, arguments. • Our office commenced six jury trials in Superior Court. District Court: • Our office commenced six jury trials in district court (two in Upper, four in Lower). • Our office prosecuted 1011 charged cases in Lower Kittitas District Court • Our office prosecuted 768 charged cases in Upper Kittitas District Court • Our office litigated two "RALJ" appeals or appeals form the District Court to the Superior Court. • Our office continues to support the Behavior Health Court and looks forward to the impact it will have on our community. juvenile Court: • Our office charged 70 juvenile cases; a number we have seen steadily and alarmingly increasing, nearly doubling in the last year. • The number of juveniles who were sentenced to Juvenile Rehabilitation, a very last resort in juvenile cases, was significantly increased, causing concern for the appearance that our rehabilitative focused interventions are not having the intended decrease on recidivism. • Our office continues to refer first-time juvenile offenders to community diversion. We are once again understaffed by at least one attorney position in the criminal division requiring everyone to carry more in a career where burnout and vicarious trauma have a real and lasting impact. Our victim witness assistants provided more than seven hundred and twenty- nine hours of direct service to more than 530 individual victims of crimes in our county. We continue to work through cases impacted by the State v. Blake decision from February 2021 - nullifying the felony crime of possession of a controlled substance. We have also committed to strong relationships with our law enforcement partners including doing continuing education with them, assisting on drafting, and editing warrants, and on call responses to questions that arise; a criminal attorney is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week through KITCOM dispatch. Everyone in the criminal division is proud of the work we do every day, and, on the team, we have built within our office that is cohesive, intelligent, and driven by a desire for justice in our community. Internal IT: • 172 individual support tickets were submitted to PbK • Average length until closure was 8 days. • 58 IT service tickets were completed • Researched and purchased courtroom technology upgrades • 92 audio/video clips were redacted/converted. • 277 templates were updated in PbK • 16 new templates created in PbK • 33 new events created in PbK • 142 events inactivated in PbK REVENUES: • State Prosecutor Salary $118,731.00 • Reimbursement For Courts $10,000.00 • Prosecutor Diversion Fees $4,800.00 • Prosecutor Reimbursement Costs $22,713.00 • SA/Intergovernmental: LE Agencies $7,022.00 • Credit Card Rebates $100.00 • Public Disclosure $24.00 • Notary Services $1,075.00 • Miscellaneous Revenue $2,000.00 • Blake Reimbursement $7,200.00 • Rule 9 Reimbursement $13,335.00 • Total: $187,000.00 GRANT FUNDING &Victim Witness: • Victim Witness STOP $16,500.00 • Dept. of Commerce Grant: Victim Services: $53,029.00 o A reduction of$8,299/year • District Ct/Mun Crime VW $16,976.00 • Total: $86,505.00 • GRAND TOTAL REVENUES: $273,505.00 Requests: Personnel: Budget Request Summary In 2024 the HR Director requested feedback on the 2025 exempt salary threshold and identified several office positions that no longer meet L&I exempt salary standards. Because these roles fall below the L&I minimum, our office reviewed operational needs and is proposing internal reclassifications to align duties, supervision responsibilities, and compensation with county benchmarks. The requested actions are proper placement of the Chief Criminal Deputy on the wage scale, reclassification of the Chief Administrator to Chief Legal Administrator, and reclassification of two Administrative Supervisor positions. Requested Classification Actions 1. Reclassify Administrative Supervisor positions • Reclassify Jacob Schroder's position to Legal Information Technology Administrator, Range 22, benchmarked with Network System Administrator 11. • Reclassify Miranda Paul's position to Legal Assistant IV Supervisor, Range 22, benchmarked with the Chief Administrator. 2. Reclassify Chief Administrator • Reclassify the Prosecutor's Office Chief Administrator to Chief Legal Administrator, proposed Range 28, benchmarked with the Superior Court Administrator. 3. Correct placement for Chief Criminal Deputy • Place the Chief Criminal Deputy at Step 9 Workload and Wellbeing Considerations • Prosecutors and support staff in our office carry sustained, high-volume workloads with no formal or practical case limits, increasing the frequency and intensity of exposure to traumatic material. • Continuous exposure to graphic evidence, victim testimony, and high- stakes litigation creates a measurable risk of vicarious trauma for all staff. • Supervisory positions in this office perform both technical, casework duties and intensive management tasks that include providing frontline emotional support, crisis response, and operational continuity during staffing gaps. These duties compound stress and increase the need for higher-level compensation and formal recognition. Justification for Administrative Supervisor Reclassifications • Both positions require advanced legal and technical expertise, high- stakes decision-making, and supervisory responsibility for specialized staff. • The duties performed in our office exceed the scope of identically titled roles in other County departments; these positions therefore require wage placement comparable to other senior administrative roles within legal services. • Legal Assistant IV Supervisor duties include active caseload management, conflict case handling, primary backup for seven legal assistants across criminal and civil divisions, and direct supervision of the largest subordinate group in the office. • Legal Information Technology Administrator duties include maintaining and upgrading complex case management systems and evidence intake processes, training staff, and supervising a paralegal, receptionist, and interns. • Both positions are members of the Prosecutor's Office Management Team. Justification for Chief Legal Administrator Reclassification • The Chief Legal Administrator is the Prosecutor's Executive Administrative Assistant and the senior administrative office manager responsible for office wide operations. • Duties include supervising four direct reports, oversight of two subordinate supervisors and their teams, budget development and financial controls, all finance related issues, grants reporting, procurement, HR related functions, and executive support to the Elected Prosecutor. • Benchmarking this position with District and Superior Court Administrators prevents wage compression with direct reports and aligns compensation with comparable county executive administrative roles. • This position is a member of the Prosecutor's Office Management Team. Justification and Placement for Chief Criminal Deputy • The Chief Criminal Deputy position has existed in the Prosecutor's Office for at least twenty years and was recognized by the BOCC in 2019 as a separate job classification and pay scale. • The incumbent has fulfilled the full duties of the position since 2017, including casework, staff management, management team participation, training, and interim staffing coverage. • The Chief Criminal Deputy should have been placed at Step 8 effective July 2024 to reflect duties and tenure. Funding and Operational Considerations • These proposals prioritize retention of institutional knowledge and reduce recruitment costs. • 3/10ths funds may be available and could be considered as a funding source in lieu of or in addition to general fund revenues. • The Prosecutor's Office is the fourth largest County department with 27 FTEs and provides essential services to the County and citizens; these classifications support continued operational stability. • The Prosecutor's expenditure budget comparable to Public Health Conclusion These reclassification and placement requests align pay with responsibilities, prevent wage compression, and ensure continuity of experienced staff and operational capacity. Department Budgets 8udgetinerief zoZs 2025 COUNTYWIDE EXPENSE BUDGET $138MM TOTAL* $32.2 EXPENSE BUDGETS BY DEPARTMENT $138MM TOTAL ADMIN $6 $19_a $19.7 CJPS COMMISSIONERS $31 $101 $u.s $30.9 $3.] $4.6 $3.�$ 3$3.3 3 $l.l $] r ■ ■ ■ $1.1$1.9$oa $10$0.9�9$0.9$03$9. ■ ■ . *Iotaf excludes internal transfers of J0�°P gPyP oa�sOeT°��P� E1 aJOa�Oo��P`ya° � )F4O,QNJQ P�aP Je�J�`FAO JJOa °aOQPJp�PS4SS� Department Personnel Budget in Brief 2025 PERSONNEL BY ELECTED OFFICIAL TYPE PERSONNEL BY DEPARTMENT 386 AUTHORIZED POSITIONS 386 AUTHORIZED POSITIONS ADMIN 105 36 56 CJPS 180 31 27 21 zz 14 11 1U 8 7 6 3 3 1 12 9 3 z 15 lq 7 01o�a�P� �� P ° 40 41 F�p•�o'§1 03 oOP�C'`��o`��� P)� c OTWindova