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Council approves $900,000 payment to Canyon County for misdemeanor prosecution and expands city legal budget
Summary
After months of negotiation, council approved a $900,000 contract payment to Canyon County for prosecutorial services and then approved an expanded city legal budget that includes the county contract and a larger in-house legal program.
The Nampa City Council authorized a $900,000 payment to Canyon County to cover the city’s misdemeanor prosecution services for FY2026 and approved an expanded legal department budget that reflects that commitment.
City legal staff had been reviewing whether prosecution should be handled in-house or continue to be contracted with the county. Staff reported the contract with Canyon County had been on autopilot for several years and that the county’s initial FY2026 request was substantially higher than historical levels. Negotiations reduced the county’s request to $900,000; staff included $805,332 in their initial budget draft and asked council for direction. Council ultimately approved the $900,000 figure.
Preston (city legal) summarized the options discussed: continue contracting and accept the county’s revised request; build a city prosecutorial capability (significant start-up and recurring costs); or pursue a hybrid or phased approach. He said the city accounts for roughly 45% of the county’s misdemeanor workload but warned that standing up a full in-house prosecution unit would be a “massive undertaking.”
Council voted to approve the $900,000 contract number and then passed the full legal department budget (total expenditures $1,684,990) that reflected the higher prosecution payment and other expanded legal staffing and functions.
The contract vote was unanimous among council members present; the legal-budget vote carried with majority support at the workshop. Council directed staff to return with a phased plan and cost analysis if the council wishes to explore creating an in-house prosecutorial unit in the future.
