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Prosecutor asks for more deputy prosecutors and seeks county support for victim services staff
Summary
The prosecutor's office told the budget committee it lacks staff for existing felony and domestic dockets and requested additional deputy prosecutor positions and county support to preserve a victim-assistance assistant director post previously grant-funded.
The Vigo County prosecutor told the budget committee the office needs additional prosecutors and stable funding for victim-services staff to keep up with expanding caseloads and the transfer of misdemeanor filings from city to county courts.
The office requested immediate authorization for additional deputy prosecutors for two specific courtroom needs: an extra prosecutor for Division 4 (a court with a high domestic caseload and roughly 600—700 cases per year handled by a single deputy) and additional staff to cover the new Division 5 misdemeanor docket that will begin receiving filings in October. The prosecutor's office cited an independent staffing analysis recommending roughly 31 deputy prosecutors countywide; current staffing is roughly half that number, the office told the committee.
The office also asked that the county formalize funding for the victim-assistance assistant director position. That position had been fully grant-funded in prior cycles, but federal and state victim-service grants have been reduced; the prosecutor's office asked the council to approve the position as a grade-8 role and to supplement any portion the grant no longer covers.
Committee members asked about recruiting and salaries. The prosecutor described a statewide shortage of attorneys and noted competing salary offers in surrounding counties; the office said it was not immediately asking for countywide salary increases but requested help filling vacant positions and suggested that additional deputies be added now (two positions identified for immediate need) and that the committee revisit further hiring later if caseloads continue to rise.
The committee asked the prosecutor and finance staff to return with exact salary request scenarios, options for phased hiring and the impact on the 2026 personnel budget.
