Prosecuting attorney office reports stable staffing, mixed fund balances and caution on victim-services funding

Kathy, a county finance presenter, told commissioners that the Cowlitz County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is operating primarily from the general fund and currently does not generate sufficient revenues to cover all expenses; its personnel budget is just over $3 million, with about $665,000 expended through April 14.

The office has 26 budgeted positions and about three vacancies, the presenters said. Ryan, a member of the prosecuting attorney’s staff, said two new full‑time attorneys started in the last month and that the office is using part‑time or contract attorneys for some work rather than aggressively filling the final full‑time vacancy. Ryan said support staff is “fully staffed with FTEs” except for a long‑open part‑time position that has not been filled.

County finance staff flagged timing effects on services spending: internal service charges are billed early in the year, which made services appear over target in the first quarter even though the pattern is seasonal rather than a sustained budget problem. Supplies and other lines were close to target, the presenter said.

The meeting also covered several special funds administered by the prosecuting attorney. The child‑support program, a general‑fund unit that expects roughly $600,000 in intergovernmental revenue for the year, had brought in about $75,000 through the reporting date; the office currently lists two attorneys and two support staff in that program. The victim‑witness program is a separate special revenue fund (budgeted about $478,000 for the year) and had recorded roughly $15,000 in combined receipts to date; the intergovernmental subcategory for that fund showed about $40,000 of the $77,000 budgeted amount already recorded, county staff said.

Staff discussed the Cowlitz County drug fund, which was established by county resolution years ago to receive legal financial obligation (LFO) payments tied to drug prosecutions. Ryan said the fund’s balance has declined in recent years because fewer LFOs are being assessed or collected and because the prior multi‑agency drug task force that generated some of those revenues no longer operates. The prosecutor estimated the fund balance roughly in the low‑to‑mid hundreds of thousands of dollars and described the account as restricted for drug‑related investigations or prosecutions.

Ryan warned commissioners that recent state changes removing or reducing legal financial obligations for defendants have left the future funding stream for victim services uncertain. He said the Legislature previously indicated it would backfill some of the lost LFO revenues with direct appropriations (he cited an initial $4 million allocation and subsequent discussion of additional funds) but that county officials do not have a current, confirmed funding allocation from the state and were watching the issue closely.

The presenters recommended waiting until later in the year—after third‑quarter collections—before proposing revenue budget amendments for some of the prosecuting attorney special funds so the county can rely on clearer receipts patterns.

Ending notes: commissioners heard the financials as informational; no formal policy changes or votes were recorded on these items during the session.