Franklin County transfers $60,000 within prosecutor budget to pay outside counsel

The Franklin County Board of Commissioners on June 4 approved a $60,000 intrabudget transfer to the prosecutor's office to pay a contracted law firm for district court prosecutorial services.

Mister Briggs, representing the prosecutor's office, told the board his office contracted with Rio Foltz Law Firm in February to provide district-court prosecutorial services. "The service provider is paid a flat rate of $10,000 a month for handling criminal cases in district court trials and motion hearings," Briggs said, and the county is behind on payments because funds need to be shifted from salaries to professional services.

The transfer would move $60,000 from the prosecutor office salaries and wages line item to the prosecutor office professional services line item. Briggs said the agreement runs for six months and the transfer is required by statute to correct the budget line items. County Administrator Mister Danzel told the board that Mister Sant had responded to commissioners' questions by email and that the transfer should prevent a request later in the year for additional funds.

Commissioners asked whether the transfer would hamper hiring. Briggs said the office is down one position that they anticipate filling July 1 and that, with the transfer, "we should still be able to fill that position." A motion to approve resolution 2025-0169, Prosecutor's Office inter budget transfer, passed by voice vote.

Discussion versus decision: the record shows discussion about staffing levels and budget line-item classifications; the formal action was the board's approval of the intrabudget transfer. The resolution moves existing budget authority between line items rather than increasing the overall prosecutor budget.

No roll-call vote with member-by-member votes was recorded in the transcript; the board approved the resolution by an oral aye vote.