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Prosecuting Attorney budgets: child support is fully state-reimbursed; drug fund declining
Summary
County staff told commissioners the PA general fund relies partly on state payments that cover half of one salary and that the child support program is 100% state-reimbursed; the drug fund was described as a declining, rainy-day account with proposed transfers to general fund.
Finance staff presented the Prosecuting Attorney (PA) office's budget and several auxiliary funds. The director said intergovernmental payments from the state cover half of 'Ryan's salary' and that an incoming accrual of about $18,000 will put revenues above expected budget levels.
PA expenses included personnel, subscriptions (Thomson Reuters/Westlaw), professional fees for services such as out-of-jurisdiction subpoena service and expert witnesses, and jury/witness fees that vary depending on trial activity. Staff noted the unpredictability of those costs, citing multiple homicide trials in a previous year as an example.
On child support, the finance director said year-to-date collections were $329,000 of a $600,000 budget and emphasized the program is 100% reimbursable by the state; one position was inactivated for 2026 due to lower actuals. 'Brian' described current staffing as two support staff and 1.8 attorneys (one full time, one 0.84 FTE) who bill time directly to child support work.
The victim witness fund was summarized as largely grant-funded with accruals outstanding (~$16,700), a $95,000 transfer from the general fund and a current cash balance near $273,000. On the drug fund, staff said annual receipts have fallen to roughly $5,000 and the fund balance stood around $259,000; Ryan (PA) said courts no longer regularly impose the fine that used to grow the fund and proposed modest transfers into the general fund to help personnel costs.
Commissioners asked about pending state legislation. PA staff said they receive weekly association updates and will circulate items of concern to commissioners as they arise.
