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DeKalb committee backs three DA operations positions, defers digital-forensics hires pending data
Summary
The committee recommended three District Attorney's office positions (legal office coordinator, departmental IT specialist, systems analyst senior) for Board approval and asked the DA and administration for a breakdown of digital-forensics service usage before deciding on additional forensic hires; fiscal impact for nine positions was reported at $488,131.
The DeKalb County Finance, Audit and Budget Committee voted to recommend three critical operations positions for the District Attorney's office to the full Board, while deferring a decision on additional digital-forensics hires until the DA and the administration provide more detailed usage and funding data.
District Attorney Sherry Boston told the committee the DA's office has grown from roughly 157 employees in 2017 to more than 300 across five locations and now requires added operations capacity. Boston described three immediate positions for the operations and special projects unit — including an IT-focused role — to support onboarding, coordination with county IT, and maintenance of digital-evidence platforms.
Boston also summarized the office's digital-forensics workload: in 2024 the DA's lab performed 248 phone extractions, 14 computer extractions, 429 device search warrants (including 261 cell-phone search warrants), and multiple Google/iCloud and social-media searches. She said the office is on pace to exceed those numbers in 2025 and that the lab has assisted DeKalb County Police and smaller municipal and federal partners; Boston credited the lab with aiding a recent recovery of a missing teenager.
The fiscal impact for all nine requested positions (including the digital-forensics roles) was listed at $488,131 pro-rated to begin Oct. 13; Boston said the figure includes equipment and one-time costs. Budget staff explained pension contributions are allocated at the department level and are not broken out per individual position in the submitted worksheet.
Committee members expressed support for approving the three operational roles now (legal office coordinator, departmental IT specialist, systems analyst senior) because the positions address immediate operational and IT vulnerabilities. They asked Boston and administration staff to provide a breakdown of which outside agencies and municipalities use the DA lab (pre-indictment versus post-indictment workload and agency of origin) so commissioners can assess whether the service-delivery strategy and municipal contributions should be adjusted.
Commissioner Shakira Johnson moved to recommend approval of the three operations positions; Chair Ted Terry seconded and the motion carried. The committee specifically withheld recommendation for the additional digital-forensics positions pending the requested data; Boston said HR and general-counsel staff would represent the DA's office at the full Board meeting if she is unavailable.
