Madison County attorney presents budget amid claim of lawsuit-related conflict

The county attorney presented his proposed budget to the Madison County board during a work session and said a pending lawsuit naming him personally and in his official role raises a conflict if board members weigh in on his request.

The County Attorney said, "there's obviously conflict since you're suing me and my personally and my position as county attorney," and added he did not think the board should have influence over his budget under those circumstances. A board member responded that the session was a work session for department heads to present their requests and that the board was not voting: "This is just a work session to go over your budget. You're presenting to us what you were asking for. We're not—" the board member said.

On the numbers, staff and the County Attorney worked through payroll and benefit lines. The County Attorney said the office is proposing a 5% compensation increase consistent with the compensation board recommendation. The board discussed how to present part-time and full-time salaries separately on the worksheet to isolate a part-time position (Lance), whose worksheet line was listed at $21,371, while the regular-employee total was shown on the worksheet as a rounded figure for reporting purposes. Michelle (staff) was tasked with calculating FICA and IPERS amounts for the final worksheet.

The County Attorney said staffing is currently strained but that an employee (Sierra) is expected to return in January, which should restore the office to full strength. He also said he expects efforts next year to increase collections of outstanding court debt once staffing stabilizes.

The board did not take any formal vote on the county attorney’s budget at the work session; officials said the worksheet will be adjusted (FICA/IPERS/rounding) and reconvened for further review. The session concluded with routine closing remarks and holiday well-wishes.