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Solicitor General seeks investigators, attorneys and paralegals as animal and quality‑of‑life caseloads rise
Summary
Solicitor General Cohen Schrebeling told commissioners the office handled tens of thousands of cases in 2025 and is requesting multiple staff additions — including 3 investigators, 2 quality‑of‑life attorneys, 1 misdemeanor first‑appearance attorney, 2 paralegals and paralegal funding — to manage rising workloads and increasing animal‑related cases.
Solicitor General Cohen Schrebeling presented a detailed FY26 request to the committee, saying her office handled more than 29,000 Division A cases in 2025, managed tens of thousands of traffic cases and provided victim services to more than 10,000 people. She said diversion programming is extensive in DeKalb and that increases in body‑worn‑camera footage and protest‑related evidence have expanded investigators’ workloads.
To address those demands, Schrebeling asked for: two Attorney‑1 positions in the Quality of Life unit, one attorney for misdemeanor first appearances, three additional investigators (at roughly $90,000 each per an earlier commissioner remark), reclassification of five investigators to Investigator‑3, two paralegals, restoration of legal intern funding and cubicle replacement for trial assistants and support staff. The office said some animal cruelty and magistrate court matters are falling to the solicitor’s investigators because the DeKalb Police Department currently lacks detectives assigned to many animal investigations.
Commissioners explored whether a separate county attorney‑led cost‑of‑care filing process or a court‑held‑dog coordinator might speed animal cases; county attorney staff said the civil cost‑of‑care filings are handled by the county attorney’s office. The solicitor said she would welcome cross‑department planning; commissioners asked that administrators return spreadsheet line items for review.
Schrebeling stressed the work includes domestic‑violence victim services and diversion programs in addition to animal and quality‑of‑life matters. The committee did not vote at the meeting.
