State's attorney requests two mid-year positions; commission approves without budget adjustment

The Cass County state's attorney told the commission the office remains understaffed relative to peers and requested two positions to improve operations and records management. The office said it is about 39% below the average staffing level for comparable prosecutors' offices and that initial budget hearings recommended seven new positions; the commission preliminarily approved five. The office asked to add a C42 management-level position to lead open-records requests and an office support specialist to address intake and case processing bottlenecks.

"One of the things I wanted to highlight was currently if you adjust numbers, we are 39% below the average staffing level," the state's attorney said, and explained the roles would help shoulder supervisory duties and better track open-records requests.

Commissioners discussed removing an associated budget adjustment from the motion; the state's attorney and finance staff said the positions could be added in a way that is budget neutral for 2026. Commissioner Greenberg voiced support for the request as part of prior budget planning. The commission moved and seconded the item and took roll call; the motion carried.

The meeting transcript indicates the county and state's attorney's office will proceed to recruit and implement the positions; finance staff said the 2027 budget already reflects some adjustments. The commission did not provide specific hire dates during the public portion of the meeting.