Cheyenne city attorney seeks additional prosecutor and $50,000 for permanent prosecutor office amid 6,000-case municipal caseload

Cheyenne City Attorney John Bridal told the City Council during a budget presentation that the city’s criminal division handles more than 6,000 cases a year and is seeking an additional full‑time prosecutor and a $50,000 one‑time appropriation to establish a permanent office for prosecutors.

Bridal said the criminal division currently has three staff — two city prosecutors and one paralegal — and that “6,000 cases is a lot” for that team. He described the workload as including reviewing evidence, drafting pleadings, preparing for bench and jury trials, and meeting statutory victim‑service obligations.

The request matters because many Cheyenne municipal offenses are jailable under Wyoming law, which often entitles defendants to jury trials and public defenders. Bridal said that about 15% of municipal matters proceed to bench or jury trial, and that the combination of large case volume and jury‑trial preparation increases resource needs for the prosecutor’s office.

Bridal compared Cheyenne’s staffing with a larger county prosecutor’s office, noting that a Natrona County district attorney’s office handling roughly 4,000 cases has about 10 staff attorneys and additional support personnel. “That creates a pretty good bottleneck,” Bridal said of Cheyenne’s smaller staff handling greater throughput. He added that the requested additional attorney would both help manage the caseload and provide redundancy if a staff member were unexpectedly absent.

On budget specifics, Bridal asked for: - One additional full‑time prosecuting attorney (FTE) to be added to the criminal division staffing roster. - A one‑time $50,000 allocation to refurbish and make permanent space for the prosecutor’s office in the transit office building on the south side of the Spyker Garage, which Bridal said is near the police department, the public safety center and the municipal court. - An increase in professional development of roughly $10,000, which Bridal said would support attendance by attorneys and staff at municipal and specialized conferences (he cited a municipal lawyers association conference in New Orleans and annual municipal court training).

Bridal described current temporary office arrangements at the public safety center as a short‑term fix and said the $50,000 would allow the office to be consolidated and better configured for daily operations. He thanked Chief Francisco for providing temporary space but said the current layout dispersed prosecutors across facilities.

Council members asked about related issues. Dr. Aldridge questioned whether the $50,000 would be better spent finishing the second floor of the municipal courthouse, which several council members said has been discussed as long‑term space for the prosecutor’s office and related legal entities. Bridal said he did not know whether that second‑floor buildout would provide adequate, timely space and noted that the transit building option could provide a quicker, lower‑cost solution.

Council members also asked about capacity for pursuing civil liens generated by code compliance cleanup; Bridal said his office recently completed a multi‑year lien process and that the office has capacity to pursue large liens, but that doing so would require prioritization because the office lacks a large support staff to pursue every case. Bridal noted coordination with procurement and the sheriff’s office in one recent lien enforcement action.

Other points raised during the presentation and Q&A: - Bridal said many municipal cases are resolved without trial (he estimated 10–20% of defendants simply pay a ticket) but that the active cases require substantive prosecutor work even when they do not reach trial. - He confirmed that revenue from fines collected in municipal court is deposited into the city general fund. - The city maintains a litigation support/outside counsel fund (line item described later in the mayor’s budget); Bridal said he did not increase that fund this year and that it has been adequate historically for retaining outside counsel when necessary. - Councilman White suggested pursuing externs and interns from the University of Wyoming Law School; Bridal said the office has used the university’s prosecution clinic and sometimes places interns, and he intends to expand that where useful.

No formal action or vote was taken on Bridal’s requests at the meeting; councilmembers asked staff to gather additional information, including cost estimates to finish courthouse space and options for renovating the transit office. Several councilmembers expressed support for exploring both the short‑term transit office option and finishing the municipal courthouse second floor as a longer‑term solution.

Looking ahead, Bridal said the additional FTE and consolidation of office space would be intended to reduce operational risk, improve victim‑service capacity and create redundancy for the criminal division’s work if a staff member departs. The council did not adopt any motion at the conclusion of the presentation.