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Curry County district attorney asks board to increase deputy pay to fill long-running vacancies
Summary
District Attorney Kevin Kelly told the board the DA's office has had deputy prosecutor vacancies since 2022, said a recent finalist declined because the position would have been a pay cut, and asked the board to approve pay adjustments to be more competitive and reduce a growing case backlog.
District Attorney Kevin Kelly told the Curry County Board of Commissioners on March 17 that his office has struggled to recruit deputy prosecutors since 2022 and that the county needs to raise pay to attract qualified candidates.
"We are simply trying to fill vacancies that we have had for some time," Kelly said, noting he recently offered a position to a qualified candidate who declined because the salary would have been a pay cut for her. Kelly said the proposal does not create new positions but adjusts pay for existing deputy district attorney openings to a more competitive level.
Kelly said his office is down to one full-time prosecutor and is accruing a backlog of cases. He offered to provide comparative salary numbers and other specifics to the board and said he planned to recruit at a law-school job fair the next day.
Commissioners expressed support for investing in a fully functioning DA's office and asked Kelly to provide the data that would show how the proposed pay adjustments compare with neighboring counties.
Kelly clarified that the district attorney is a state employee and his personal compensation is unaffected by the board's action; the board's vote would affect county-funded deputy positions. He said he would supply additional details to help the board consider the adjustment.
