Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Da Staffing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Nueces County district attorney urges phased pay raises and more investigators to combat turnover
Summary
District Attorney Mark told commissioners a salary survey shows Nueces County pays prosecutors and staff well below comparable counties and requested phased pay-grade increases, two additional investigators and vehicles to reduce backlogs and retain prosecutors.
District Attorney Mark told the Nueces County commissioners in a budget workshop that his office is struggling to recruit and retain prosecutors and support staff because local salaries lag peer counties. He distributed a salary survey and asked the commissioners to consider a phased reclassification and modest staffing additions to stabilize prosecutions.
"We're dying," Mark said, arguing that the office's low pay contributes to persistent turnover and operational strain. He said the county currently funds 37 of the office's 45 prosecutors, supplements some positions with grants or asset-forfeiture funds, and that prosecutors often leave for neighboring counties paying substantially more.
The DA asked for three specific changes: a phased, three-step reclassification of attorney pay grades, two additional investigator positions and three vehicles for investigators. He provided ballpark cost figures to illustrate scale: he said each pay grade step he is requesting would roughly equal $25,100 in additional annual cost and that three steps for the attorney ranks would be about $75,100, and emphasized that he would accept a phased approach if commissioners preferred to spread the cost.
On investigators, Mark said the office has two investigators while similarly sized counties average about 10 and described operational impacts: stacks of investigator requests, subpoenas not served promptly, and reliance on outside law‑enforcement investigators for prosecution tasks. "We have 45 attorneys and 2 prosecutors to handle the workload," he said, adding that more investigators would help locate witnesses, serve subpoenas and prepare cases for trial.
Commissioners pressed for specificity on cost and phasing; the DA said the county auditor and finance staff could refine the precise fiscal impact. One commissioner suggested adding one investigator this year and another next year as a possible compromise; the DA said he would "take whatever I can get" but reiterated urgency.
The DA framed the request as a public‑safety and operational necessity: lower pay and too few investigators create delays in case processing and can affect victim services and trial readiness. The presentation closed with commissioners questioning details and committing to work with staff to determine exact fiscal impacts and potential phased options.
