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County attorney outlines VOCA grant changes and discovery software costs
Summary
Madison County staff said VOCA administration moved from federal to state oversight this year and explained that case-tracking software (PBK), Westlaw subscriptions and Dropbox for large evidence files account for the information-and-referral line-item changes.
Madison County officials reviewed grant and information-technology line items for the County Attorney's office and discussed changes in VOCA administration and discovery workflows.
Staff noted two VOCA lines on the worksheet, one marked inactive, and said VOCA administration shifted from federal to state oversight this fiscal year, altering reporting requirements. The board and County Attorney discussed which VOCA line should be used to record expenditures and noted the worksheet currently shows one VOCA-related expenditure column.
The County Attorney described the 'information and referral' budget line as funding the office's case-tracking software (PBK), Westlaw subscriptions and similar services. He said the line dropped because the office finished a transition from older software to PBK and successfully renegotiated Westlaw subscriptions from three seats to two, lowering annual costs.
On discovery, the County Attorney explained PBK populates calendars and manages discovery, while large multimedia evidence — including body-worn and in-car camera video — is sometimes sent via Dropbox when PBK’s size limits are exceeded. He told the board PBK also communicates with the sheriff's office to centralize discovery files for defense production.
Staff did not finalize the VOCA arithmetic in the meeting; one worksheet row showed $20,000 while staff noted a different figure on their working sheet. The board directed staff to reconcile the VOCA lines and to have Michelle finalize benefit and payroll numbers.
