Bannock County prosecutor asks commissioners for pay increases and new paralegal position to retain staff

The Bannock County prosecuting attorney asked the Board of County Commissioners on an unspecified date to approve higher salaries for prosecutors and to create a new paralegal‑level senior legal‑secretary position to help retain staff and attract younger attorneys.

The prosecutor said the office faces competition from the public defender system and cited publicly available salary figures to explain the county’s difficulty recruiting and keeping attorneys. “These are attorneys, such as Sean Wynn ... being paid out a 125,000 a year. That's more than I make,” the prosecutor said, adding that district‑level managers earn substantially more: “Dave Martinez ... is paid out a 155,000 a year; Ashley LaValley ... paid out 150,000 a year.”

Why it matters: The prosecutor told commissioners vacancies and impending departures are driving the request. The office seeks pay adjustments that it describes as competitive with nearby public defender pay scales but short of the state public defender schedule. The prosecutor said the lowest paid attorneys at the public defender office are “about 90,000” and that proposed county increases aim to make local salaries “competitive in getting younger attorneys.”

Discussion and proposal details: Presenters described two parts to the request. First, across‑the‑board salary changes for attorney positions intended to reduce turnover and the “back and forth game” of attorneys leaving for the public defender offices. Second, a reclassification of existing administrative roles to create a higher‑level support position to preserve institutional knowledge.

On the support role, the presenters proposed converting or relabeling one or more senior administrative assistant positions to a legal‑secretary classification and possibly to a paralegal equivalent (grade 10) if funding allows. The prosecutor said the specific duties would include more substantive legal support; the office would require a paralegal certificate as part of the minimum qualifications for that title. The prosecutor explained the change is meant to create a promoted track so long‑tenured support staff can continue to advance rather than “top out on the current scale.”

Commissioners and county staff asked procedural questions about position control and classification. One participant supplied a position control number during the discussion and another noted that the clerk’s recommendation and the exact label for the position would be formalized before submission: “Before Christy and I submit the clerk’s recommendation, we'll come and we'll label it exactly as you want to on the recommendations,” a commissioner said.

No formal vote was recorded on the salary adjustments or the new position during the excerpted discussion. Commissioners indicated general willingness to consider a paralegal classification if it meets the county’s pay‑grade and hiring objectives but cautioned against assuming a title would be automatically assigned to any current employee.

Ending: County staff said they will finalize the classification and budget language and return with a clerk’s recommendation. The prosecutor said the office will continue to press for salary steps that make local positions competitive enough to keep staff and recruit new attorneys.