HomeMy WebLinkAboutDistrict Attorney's OfficeDistrict Attorney’s Office
Presenters:
Steve Gunnels
Jessica Chandler
Ashley Beatty
▪FY24-25 Proposed Budget Presentation
Budget Committee Meeting | May 21, 2024
District Attorney (DA) Overview
It is the mission of the Deschutes
County District Attorney’s Office to
seek justice, advance public safety
and uphold the law. We strive to
maintain public trust and serve the
people of Deschutes County with
fairness, integrity and honor.
-Mission Statement
DA Accomplishments
•Veterans Intervention Strategy (VIS)
•Case Highlights:
•Randall Kilby
•Daniel Joseph Mitchell
•SAUSA Attorneys
•DCIMME
•Staff Background Investigations Enhancement
•Deputy DA Law Enforcement Trainings
FY 24-25 DA Budget Details
•Federal Grants: $18,000
•State Grant: $174, 700
•Discovery Fees: $20,000
•General Fund: $11,040,683
24-25 RESOURCES
FY 24-25 DA Budget Details
•DA Personnel: $10,980,388
•M&S: $2,086,425
•Some changes you will see:
•Time Management Leave
•Investigations
•Other inflationary increases
24-25 REQUIREMENTS
FY 24-25 DA Fiscal Issues
DCDA Remodel: Planning for the renovation
and remodel of office facilities to
accommodate growing staff and operational
needs.
Implementing PCE Recommendations:
Current additional FTE needs per PCE: 2 DDAs,
2 LAs.
Increased Workload: A surge in criminal cases or
complex cases strains existing resources, leading
to increased operational expenses.
Grant Funding: DV grant that funds 1.0 DV
Investigator to end 9/30/24. We have submitted
our RFP Application.
Short-term Fiscal Issues Long-term Fiscal Issues
Current Challenges and Future Initiatives
•Communication & Collaboration
•Data
•Policy and Procedures
•Space Utilization
•Professional Development and Training
•Surge in Complex Cases
•Staffing Challenges
•Addressing Backlog
•Office Space Constraints
•Digital Evidence Complexity
Challenges Future Initiatives
FY 24-25 Special Requests
Proposal for a 1.0 FTE Request for Deputy District Attorney II Position
FY25 Fiscal Budget Impact:
Salary: $148,834
Benefits: $75,801
Total Fiscal Impact: $224,635
The citizen's safety lies in the prosecutor
who tempers zeal with human kindness,
who seeks truth and not victims, who
serves the law and not factional purposes,
and who approaches his or her task with
humility. – United States Attorney General
Robert H. Jackson
Justification
•Aid and Assist, Mental Health Court, Civil Commitments.
•Murders.
Increase in Mental Health and Complex Cases
Anticipated Impact of Oregon Measure 110
Increasing Expungements and Public Record Requests
•Due to changes in Oregon Measure 110, we expect our caseload related to drug
offenses to rise by 200 to 700 cases per year. The proposed Deputy District Attorney II
position is crucial to effectively handle these new legal challenges.
•Expungement requests have surged by approximately 338% over the last three years.
•Public record requests have witnessed a significant uptick in quantity, ranging from
4% to 28% annually, coupled with an increase in complexity.
Justification
•Increased demand due to Paid Leave Oregon (PLO) or turnover requires coverage by
supervisory roles or senior attorneys.
•Vacancies led to hiring newer attorneys resulting in lower pay scales, reducing budget
and enabling funding for the proposed position.
Coverage Needs During Absences and Turnover
Supervisory Challenges
Alignment with PCE Recommendation:
•Supervising attorneys' heavy caseloads compromise their ability to provide effective
training, mentoring, and management due to their focus on line prosecution,
prioritizing high-risk, extreme public safety cases over supervision.
•In 2021, the Prosecutors' Center of Excellence (PCE) recommended four new Deputy
District Attorneys; we've only received 2. This request aligns with that recommendation
due to growing office demands.
Mental Health
•Aid and Assist
•Mental Health Court
•Civil Commitments
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
MURDER
1
4 4
8
4
Murders by Year
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
250
616
0
165
350
0
43
124
012
74
367
74 71
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Possession of Heroin Possession of Meth Possession of Fentanyl
Total Drug Possession Charges Filed by Year
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
FY 24-25 Special Requests
AXON Enterprise
FY25 Fiscal Budget Impact:
FY25: $32,000 (increasing 4%
annually)
FY25 Ask: 24,000
$32,000- $8,000 (eliminate
files.com)
Justification
History:
•DAO uses a free guest account due to Bend Police Department's Axon use.
•Limited to viewing and downloading digital evidence.
•Evidence auto-downloads when shared by the police.
Justification:
•Without approval of this request, we'll be obligated to perform manual downloads,
thereby increasing the workload for our legal assistants.
•Automatic transcription saves attorney time.
•Offers unlimited cloud storage, reducing local data management.
•Provides a platform for law enforcement to upload digital evidence.
•Eliminates $8,000/yr. cost for E-Discovery with files.com.
Victim Assistance Program
The District Attorney administers the Victims’ Assistance Program (VAP),
which provides services for victims of crime.
Our goal is to provide timely and effective services for all crime victims in
the community. The services VAP provides are not replicated by any
other agency in the community and are required under Oregon Statute.
FY 24-25 VAP Budget Details
•Beg Net WC: $362,011
•Federal Grant: $137,640
•VOCA (State): $270,130
•VOCA Other (State): $2,000
•Criminal Fine Acct: $112,000
•Interest Revenue: $2,000
•Transfer In GF: $713,887
•No additional personnel requested
24-25 RESOURCES
44%
23%
9%
17%
7%
VAP Resources
Transfer In Beg. Net WC
Federal Government Payments State Government Payments
Interest Revenue Criminal Fine Account
FY 24-25 VAP Budget Details
• Personnel: $1,219,784
•M&S: $107,311
24-25 REQUIREMENTS
13%
87%
VAP Requirements
Material & Services Personnel Services
Thank you