City solicitor briefs committee on law department workload, turnover and staffing needs
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Summary
City Solicitor Emily Warner reported increased workloads, significant recent turnover and requests for additional prosecution and contracts attorneys; she highlighted prosecution intake improvements funded by a federal grant and the department’s role in housing and economic development enforcement.
City Solicitor Emily Warner updated the Budget and Finance Committee on the Law Department’s staffing, performance goals and recent turnover, saying the office has taken on new programs and needs additional staff to maintain service levels.
Warner said the department has grown to cover new services such as the Office of Ethics and Good Government, a parking violations bureau and a city mediation program, while also providing prosecution, collections, contract review and economic development legal support. ‘‘We are here to support you, the public, all of the work that you have been hearing from these departmental presentations,’’ Warner said.
Warner described a period of ‘‘historic’’ turnover since December, with about 15% of staff leaving, and said salary adjustments last year narrowed a gap with comparable county prosecutor pay that had driven some departures. She said the law department needs additional capacity in two priority areas: prosecution and contracts. Warner requested three new attorney roles from the city manager—two in prosecution and one in contracts—and said seven more attorneys would be the ‘‘magic number’’ to meet longer‑term needs.
Warner said prosecutors’ workloads have risen with more evidence from body‑worn cameras and added that the division trains many less‑experienced attorneys who then require supervision and coverage during parental and other leaves. She also discussed an intake initiative for charging decisions: the department has been working on an intake program funded by a Department of Justice grant and plans to hire an additional prosecutor and paralegal in May to expand the intake process.
Warner highlighted other department accomplishments, including collections results that exceed national recoupment standards, expanded housing enforcement and economic development project work (including convention center district and Findlay community center projects), and community engagement through internships and the ‘‘adopt a class’’ program.
Ending: The committee received the report; Warner said additional staffing requests are under consideration but no hiring decisions were made during the meeting.