Sweetser Has Plea Answered Prosecutor Gets 75 Percent Of Extra Funds He Sought

Spokane County commissioners agreed Tuesday to give Prosecutor Jim Sweetser most of the additional money he requested for fighting crime.

Moments later, commissioners announced they’ll not consider any other requests for more money from any county departments, at least until new budget figures are available in October.

Sweetser, who warned he’d have to start letting some felons go if he didn’t get $163,000, will receive $120,000 and a promise that commissioners will consider giving him more in October.

But the money comes with a catch.

Sweetser must spend $20,000 to develop tougher ordinances for adult bookstores, arcades and other sexually oriented businesses, and to prosecute violations of those laws.

The money would help pay the salary of Patti Walker, a city prosecutor who defended Spokane’s adult entertainment ordinances in federal court.

If the plan is approved by the City Council, Walker would work on ordinances that would apply both inside and outside the city limits.

Such cooperation would protect “the image of Spokane as a decent place to live and do business,” anti-pornography crusader Penny Lancaster wrote in a memo suggesting the arrangement to commissioners.

Sweetser could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His request last month did not include money to take up the fight against adult entertainment.

Rather, Sweetser requested $163,000 to avoid releasing felons already arrested, saying his staff is prosecuting more criminals than ever before. All five deputy prosecutors who deal with major crimes are handling at least one aggravated murder case.

Phil Harris, normally the most fiscally conservative of the three county commissioners, was Sweetser’s biggest champion Tuesday, saying the money should be a reward for a job well done.

“Attaboy, Jim Sweetser. Keep doing what you’re doing,” said Harris, though Sweetser was not in the room.

“And I’m talking about a Democrat,” said Harris, a Republican.

Commissioners John Roskelley and Steve Hasson argued the county’s budget is too tight to meet Sweetser’s full request. Adding figures on a yellow note pad, Roskelley jokingly accused Harris of becoming a fiscal liberal.

With $120,000, Roskelley said, the prosecutor can hire one more deputy prosecutor, a paralegal and an office assistant, and buy the equipment those new employees will need.

“That’s fair enough,” Roskelley said.

The county has about $700,000 in its reserve account.

, DataTimes