Committee advances state-mandated district attorney pay increase and funds assistant DA position

The Montgomery County Legislature’s personnel committee voted to advance a state-mandated pay adjustment for the district attorney and to seek funding to reestablish an assistant district attorney position.

Chair opened the meeting and introduced a resolution to amend the 2026 operating budget to reflect the mandated salary adjustment for the district attorney, saying the increase “is coming out of another line item and not out of fund balance.” The committee approved moving the matter forward after brief discussion and an abstention was recorded.

During discussion on a separate but related resolution to fund an assistant district attorney, Christina, speaking for the district attorney’s office, said a legal intern, Nathaniel McCabe, who joined as an intern in January after graduating from Albany Law, “took the New York State Bar Exam in February. He passed, is, actually, top tenth percentile. So he's filled out his application for character and fitness and he's awaiting admissions.” Christina said the office needs a stable assistant attorney so courts will reliably have coverage and that the funded position would help cover night courts.

Committee members tied the funding request to the earlier compensation change: the panel approved the request to move to the full board so the county can hire and assign an assistant district attorney once admission is complete. Sponsors said the budget adjustment for the reestablished position will be covered within the office’s existing allocations for the rest of the year and is expected to be budget-neutral in the next fiscal cycle because of expiring contracts.

The measures now advance to the full legislature for final action.