Law Director Lisa Eliasson delivered the office’s required annual report, explaining the office’s civil and criminal responsibilities, caseload statistics for the year, budget figures and pending civil litigation.

Eliasson said the office prosecutes misdemeanors for the city and certain county unincorporated areas under the Ohio Revised Code and provided case counts as of the report cutoff: 1,398 criminal cases, 6,419 traffic cases and 240 OVI cases, totaling 8,057 cases for the year. She noted that in 2024 the total was 8,006 cases, a slight year-over-year increase.

On budget, Eliasson said her office’s appropriation last year was $757,352 and that the county contributed $82,190 to cover prosecutions in unincorporated areas; she has asked the county for a 2% increase for 2026. Member Swank questioned per-case coverage; Eliasson said the county payment roughly equates to a portion of a prosecutor’s cost and suggested the council could consider a resolution supporting a larger county contribution during the county’s budget process.

Eliasson outlined pending civil litigation, naming East State Street Development (response brief deadline 2026-01-12) and noting another city-related case referred to private mediation with a court-ordered completion date of 2026-02-19; she said the city works with outside counsel and insurers as necessary.

The law director invited questions from council about the office’s work, prosecution responsibilities and litigation updates; members indicated interest in following up through the finance committee regarding county compensation.