$1 million trimmed from county budget

Spokane County budget writers have trimmed more than $1 million from the proposed $134.7 million 2006 budget.

Now, however, a group of county judges, attorneys and other criminal justice employees are asking county commissioners to authorize hiring 26 new employees at a cost of about $1.6 million a year to tackle a criminal case backlog.

Commissioners made no promises, but said they would look into the issue.

So far they have shown more of a predilection for cutting the 2006 budget than spending more.

The budget adjustment announced Thursday was completed three days after commissioners asked budget staff to trim at least $1 million from the 2006 general fund. They said they want to bring expenses more in line with county tax revenues.

“We should have asked you for $2 million,” joked Commissioner Mark Richard about the quick response.

On the list of $1,064,000 in cuts:

“$400,000 set aside to handle budget appeals from various county departments.

“$300,000 from the Spokane County Jail’s inmate medical costs.

“$125,000 from long-range planning.

“$85,000 by eliminating a Sheriff’s Office position from which an employee is retiring.

“$154,000 in miscellaneous cuts and adjustments across the county’s budget.

The planning money will be replaced with funds from permitting fees, and the jail needs less medical funding in 2006 because several inmates with serious, and expensive, medical conditions have been released.

Commissioners said they want to start working toward cutting expenses further by evaluating the need for positions as they become vacant.

“As you look higher on the org charts, they don’t make sense,” said Commissioner Todd Mielke of some supervisory positions.

As for the request for additional criminal justice spending, the commissioners were noncommittal.

Commissioner Phil Harris said that commissioners Mielke and Richard, both with less than a year on the board, are being tested by the different department heads and elected officials, many of whom are requesting additional employees refused by the previous board of commissioners.

The joint proposal from the county prosecutor, public defender, Superior Court, county clerk, jail and pre-trial service department asks for 26.5 full-time employees to tackle a backlog of 1,500 property crime and drug cases.

When criminals aren’t promptly prosecuted, they begin to believe that they are immune to the law and commit more offenses, said Debby Kurbitz, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office administrator.

Included in the request for people and maintenance and operation money are one new Superior Court judge, eight attorneys, four paralegals, five secretaries, a court reporter, a judicial assistant, four clerks, an accounting technician, an office assistant and a part-time pre-trial services officer. Kurbitz predicted that with that staffing the county could handle 50 more felony cases a month.