Courts and prosecutors outline staffing and program requests as county reviews FY27 budget

Multiple judicial offices and the district attorney’s and public defender’s offices used the May 14 session to summarize operational changes and funding requests the commission will consider in the FY27 budget.

Magistrate Chief Ben Min asked for a 20‑hour part‑time magistrate (covered separately), noting magistrates’ on‑call structure is suited for unplanned protective‑order hearings. Superior Court judges (including Chuck Oslander and Chief Judge Lisa Lot) supported that request and described broader efforts to streamline preliminary hearings, impaired‑driver warrants, and treatment court operations.

District Attorney Deion Machelli asked commissioners to consider two investigator positions as a near‑term priority and a single assistant DA to restore staff to FY24 levels; Machelli said larger caseloads, more digital evidence and lengthier trials increase investigative and prosecutorial time demands. Solicitor Will Fleer proposed a career track for investigators to improve retention and urged use of existing 5% fines funds for community‑based victim counseling programs — noting that DA and solicitor offices cannot directly fund counseling but certified non‑profits can apply for 5% grants.

Public Defender John Donnelly said the mayor’s recommended budget matches the office request. Judges and court administrators highlighted recent investments — technology upgrades, new treatment‑services positions, courtroom AV and custodial improvements — but said more staff and modest operating increases are still needed to keep up with case volume and statutory requirements (for example the magistrate increase in jurisdictional dollar limits to $25,000 taking effect next year).

Probate Judge Susan Schaefer and juvenile court leadership described case management system rollouts, a planned fiduciary compliance officer, and an assisted outpatient treatment (civil accountability) model being developed with Advantage Behavioral Health; both courts said e‑filing mandates and population aging increase service demand.

Why this matters: Prosecutors, public defenders and judges warned that staffing gaps and rising digital evidence loads affect the pace and fairness of case processing. Several offices asked that the commission weigh one‑time and recurring personnel requests against capital projects, including the proposed judicial center and sheriff’s modernization requests.

Next steps: County staff and judicial offices will provide detailed cost estimates and draft implementation plans during the FY27 budget process; commissioners asked for scenario detail where requests could affect overall capital and debt capacity.