Snohomish County prosecutor tells Monroe council staffing crunch forces tougher charging priorities

Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Cummings told the Monroe City Council on the night of the special May meeting that his office is operating under severe staffing and budget pressure and has adjusted charging and disposition practices accordingly.

“We are facing a crunch,” Cummings said, describing what he called a backlog of cases that grew during and after the pandemic and a long-running pattern of budget cuts. He told council members the office now prioritizes homicides, domestic-violence cases and other violent crimes while some nonviolent felonies receive lower priority.

Cummings said the office has had to change its charging and disposition standards because it cannot staff every case. “If I can't get to some of those nonviolent property crimes…we were asking that they be referred back to the municipal prosecution and municipal courts to be handled,” he said.

Why it matters: Cummings warned the staffing shortage affects local public safety systems beyond the prosecutor's office. He said the county filed roughly 1,800 felonies last year and described a disproportionate load across defense and prosecution resources; the transcript records Cummings noting a numerical gap between public defenders and deputy prosecuting attorneys and citing examples elsewhere in Washington where insufficient defense resources led to dismissals and knock-on public-safety effects.

Council members asked how the city could help. Cummings urged municipal officials to contact the County Council and County Executive to emphasize the need to properly fund prosecutors, the sheriff and courts. He said those local advocacy efforts complement the county's broader push in Olympia on issues tied to funding and caseload standards.

The presentation framed the current posture as resource-driven rather than a change in prosecutorial mission. Cummings emphasized that his office is still pursuing serious cases and that difficult choices have been made to prioritize limited staff time. He fielded questions about whether society has become more litigious and said trial volume and complexity have changed in recent years, with some periods showing many lengthy felony trials.

Next steps: Cummings answered council questions and encouraged local officials to coordinate with county leaders about funding shortfalls. No formal action or vote occurred at the council meeting.

Sources: Remarks by Prosecuting Attorney Jason Cummings to the Monroe City Council (presentation and Q&A).