District attorney says recent spike in homicides is straining office capacity; warns cuts risk case outcomes

The Deschutes County district attorney's office told commissioners at the Jan. 27 retreat that a surge in homicide investigations and other complex prosecutions is stretching the office's capacity and that staff reductions proposed under the FY26 limited-growth framework could create risks to case processing.

Business manager Jessica Chandler opened the office's presentation and the office followed with a detailed description of caseload and staffing. The DA's office said, "In the last 2 months since late November, we've had in Deschutes County, we've had 4 murders," and that senior prosecutors have been at crime scenes and working with law enforcement on search warrants and long investigations. The office noted additional complex, long-running cases that require significant attorney time.

The nut graf: the DA cautioned that the proposed budget reductions'including holding a deputy DA position vacant and trimming a legal assistant'would exacerbate existing strain. "The proposal is that we have a 0.25 FTE deputy DA 2 position left vacant... The materials and services reductions... would be very difficult for us," the DA's office said. Staff warned of specific operational risks: missed discovery deadlines, delays in filing or preparing for motions, and reduced capacity to support lengthy homicide prosecutions.

The DA's presentation included context about longer-term staffing recommendations. The office referenced a 2020 review by a prosecutors'center that recommended additional deputy prosecutors; the DA said two deputies were added since that review but further capacity growth had not kept pace with case complexity. The office recommended that the board consider the risk profile of cutting prosecutorial staff and asked commissioners to weigh proposed savings against public-safety and court-process risks.

Commissioners did not vote but discussed options, including possible use of one-time county resources or staged cuts that preserve capacity for violent-felony cases. Several commissioners acknowledged the office's arguments and asked staff to identify the minimum FTE changes that would meet the budget target while limiting risks to case outcomes.

Ending: The district attorney's office will supply more detailed scenarios showing how each proposed staffing or materials cut would change timelines and workload; commissioners asked that the sheriff, courts and county administration coordinate to identify the most legally and operationally sensitive service areas before the budget is finalized.