Spokane County preserves $300,000 of budget capacity to avert prosecutor layoffs, debates moving interpreter fees

Spokane County commissioners on Nov. 3 discussed preserving roughly $300,000 of budget capacity to avoid layoffs in the prosecutor’s office while considering reassigning interpreter fees to a centralized county budget line.

Prosecuting attorney (Speaker 9) told the board the office faces persistent vacancies — “7 to 10 vacant attorney positions” — and rapidly rising interpreter costs. "Last year interpreter fees budgeted were $91,000 and actuals hit $324,000," Speaker 9 said, illustrating why the office cannot reliably absorb interpreter expenses via vacancy savings alone. He urged the board to leave $300,000 available to maintain operations and hiring flexibility.

Commissioners debated whether to move the interpreter invoicing and administration away from the prosecutor’s budget. Commissioner (Speaker 3) noted that the statute references the county as the "prosecuting authority," and moving the invoice does not remove the obligation but could make costs more transparent. Commissioner (Speaker 6) said, "I don't wanna see any layoffs at the prosecutor's office," and other commissioners voiced similar support for avoiding midyear staff cuts.

Staff and the prosecutor’s office described trade-offs: preserving the $300,000 would effectively allow the county to keep roughly two attorney positions rather than implementing layoffs tied to rising interpreter invoices. Several commissioners asked staff to identify a single centralized line or procurement arrangement to house interpreter services and to show a multiyear comparison so the board can see historical budget/actual variance before final adoption.

Next steps: staff will draft budget language to hold $300,000 in capacity for the prosecutor while moving interpreter fee administration to a centralized fund or byline for clearer contract management, then report back with accounting and procurement options before final budget adoption.