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Kaufman County district attorney outlines staffing, capital‑trial and grant‑funded needs in budget presentation
Summary
District Attorney Erlee Wiley detailed requests including a placeholder for an anticipated capital trial, multiple salary adjustments to retain prosecutors, requests for additional intake staff and furniture/space to accommodate an expanding office; several items tied to grants.
District Attorney Erlee Wiley presented a broad overview of his office’s budget needs on June 11, telling the commissioners that growth in caseload and staff prompted targeted requests for personnel, one‑time trial expenses and modest operating increases.
Wiley said the office is planning for an upcoming capital murder prosecution and asked the court to include a $50,000 placeholder to cover the county’s anticipated expert and trial expenses, noting reimbursement may be sought from the governor’s office for certain eligible costs. “We are gonna be seeking the death penalty on this and that has been communicated to the defense,” Wiley said, adding that state grants have reimbursed similar costs for past cases.
On personnel, Wiley described a reorganization that added a first assistant and reported 54 staff when fully staffed (about 26 attorneys, nine investigators and additional support staff). He requested targeted salary increases — a mix of cost‑of‑living adjustments and specific pay increases for hard‑to‑fill felony positions — to retain and recruit experienced prosecutors. Wiley said he preferred focusing increases on positions that have been difficult to refill rather than an across‑the‑board raise.
Wiley also requested adding two intake positions to address a backlog of 150–200 unentered cases and reduce overtime comp‑time, and he suggested reviewing exempt/non‑exempt status for supervisors whose workload and duties may be executive in nature. He told commissioners the office would seek several grant awards and that many of the requested hires would be partially or fully grant‑funded; he cited one grant award identifier (1558901) for a family‑violence misdemeanor investigator and prosecutor that his office scored in the 86th percentile.
Wiley said the office would like to use available operating funds this year to create more workspace and to purchase furniture; he asked the court whether to proceed immediately if funds are available.
No formal votes were taken at the conclusion of Wiley’s presentation; he said he will bring specific salary and position requests back in subsequent budget workshop meetings.
