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Story County reviews county attorney budget as programs report lower recidivism and phone licensing costs rise
Summary
At a Jan. 30 work session, County Attorney Jim Mills highlighted new hires and a state recidivism study showing a 12% recidivism rate for participants in the office's alternatives program versus 61% for non-completers. Staff reviewed revenue and line-item budgets, flagged a possible 30% increase in phone/licensing costs, and confirmed use of opioid-settlement funds for diversion and treatment supports.
Story County supervisors spent most of a Jan. 30 budget work session reviewing the county attorney's budget and program performance, after County Attorney Jim Mills reported two recent hires and new data showing substantially lower recidivism among participants in the office's alternatives program.
Mills told the board his office filled a position that had been open since October and filled another juvenile/civil misdemeanor docket role three weeks earlier. He credited the alternatives program and the mental health court with improved outcomes and said the office is close to graduating the program's first participant. "People who complete our alternatives programming have a 12% recidivism rate compared to those who do not complete our program," Mills said, and thanked the board for funding the program with opioid settlement dollars.
Why it matters: supervisors must weigh personnel needs, program effectiveness and constrained revenues while finalizing the FY27…
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