Whitley County prosecutor asks council for pay flexibility to retain deputies; council delays decision for updated compensation study
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
County prosecutor DJ Sigler told the Whitley County Council that case filings and new mandates have strained staff and requested authority to expand a county-funded deputy prosecutor pay range to $120,000 and $13,006.88 in additional county funding for a child-support deputy; council voted 6–1 to obtain an updated WIS compensation/workload report and postpone final action for one month.
Whitley County Prosecutor DJ Sigler told the county council on Jan. 6 that rising caseloads and recruitment difficulties have put the prosecutor’s office at risk and asked the council for authority to increase the county-funded deputy prosecutor pay range.
Sigler said the office handled 1,268 superior-court case filings in 2025 and has “a problem… recruiting and retaining qualified attorneys,” adding that technological and evidence demands have increased prosecutorial workload. He said the county currently funds a criminal deputy slot at $90,000 and proposed the county expand the allowable range for that slot up to $120,000 so the office can offer competitive pay when needed.
On a second point, Sigler proposed raising the child-support/juvenile/civil-forfeiture deputy position to a $120,000 salary; because federal child-support reimbursement covers a portion of that pay, he said the county’s net cost for that increase would be approximately $13,006.88 in 2026. He summarized the county-share calculation and said federal reimbursement rules (the county is allowed to claim 80% of a portion of salary and then receive a reimbursement percentage) make the net county outlay lower than the headline increase.
Council members pressed Sigler for comparators and documentation. Several members asked that the council obtain a current WIS (workload and compensation) review; Sigler said the state-level study commissioned in 2025 found Whitley County was short roughly 3.2 prosecutors for its workload and that surrounding-county pay data informed his ask. One council member said they preferred to see an updated WIS report before approving any salary changes, and another said the request was reasonable but should be confirmed with current numbers.
A motion to approve the immediate $13,006.88 increase and range expansion failed for lack of a second. The council then voted 6–1 to request a current WIS compensation/workload report and postpone any pay decision for one month so members can review the updated analysis.
The council did not adopt the pay increases at the Jan. 6 meeting; Sigler said he will return with outcomes or a further request after the updated compensation review.