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Commission reviews personnel requests as counties feel strain from rising caseloads and jail expansion
Summary
Minnehaha County commissioners heard staffing requests across justice and public-safety offices, including two correctional officers for the new juvenile justice center, additional public defender and state's attorney FTEs, and a public advocate attorney; staff asked for an org chart and more data before final decisions.
Minnehaha County commissioners reviewed a series of personnel requests Tuesday focused on justice and public-safety needs as caseloads and facility expansions strain existing staff.
Carrie Deaver of Human Resources summarized the packet: two correctional officers tied to the opening of a juvenile justice center (JJC) in January 2027, one new public advocate attorney, three requested public defender attorneys (discussion later narrowed to two), and two deputy state's attorneys. Several positions are partial-year or grant-funded.
Julie Hoefer of the Public Advocate's Office said the office has not added attorneys in several years and requested an additional attorney and an internal upgrade to a senior trial attorney role to support administration and caseload coverage. Commissioners asked Hoefer for an organizational chart to better compare supervisory structures and pay grades.
On public defenders, commissioners and the public defender's liaison proposed cutting the request from three new FTEs to two as a budget compromise; Tracy (public defender office) said recruitment and retention have been difficult but understood the budget rationale.
State's Attorney office representative Daniel said felony filings rose roughly 2% last year and misdemeanors rose about 14% (roughly 1,000 additional misdemeanor cases), and described how added judicial dockets and turnover increased pressure on prosecutorial staffing. "Felonies were up about 2%. Misdemeanors were up 14%. So you're talking over a thousand extra misdemeanors last year," Daniel said.
Commissioners generally supported early hiring for the two JJC court-security positions so recruits can complete academy training before the facility opens, but asked staff to present fuller cost and timeline details for implementation. Several commissioners emphasized that increases to public-safety staffing should be balanced with forecasting and reserve considerations.
What's next: staff will provide an org chart comparing attorney office structures, more detailed caseload breakdowns, and revised cost estimates so the commission can finalize position approvals in follow-up budget meetings.
Sources: Human Resources presentation; remarks by Julie Hoefer, Tracy (public defender office) and Daniel (state's attorney office) during the commission meeting.
