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Home My WebLink AboutDistrict Attorney's Office & Victim's AssistanceDistrict Attorney’s Office Presenters: Steve Gunnels Jessica Chandler Ashley Beatty ▪FY23-24 Proposed Budget Presentation Budget Committee Meeting | May 23, 2023 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 –achieved two years of implementation, incorporated the Deschutes County Circuit Court into the program model and only had a 12.5% two-year incarceration recidivism rate, achieving our goal of no more than 20%. •Emerging Adult Program –Secured $1.1 M in state funding to support two additional years of restorative justice program. Successfully completed the pilot with a 7.7% one-year arrest recidivism rate, meeting our goal of less than 35%. •Working closely with the Marijuana grant-have a dedicated DA Investigator to write search warrants. •Implemented DCDA patrol briefing and ride-along program for DCDA personnel to learn the job demands of law enforcement and build stronger relationships with LE. •Participating in Community Outreach events such as Polar Plunge and First Responder Career Fair and Community Event. FY 23-24 DA Budget Details •Federal Grants: 191,130 •State Grant: 329,918 •Discovery Fees: 20,000 •Local Grant: 11,000 •General Fund: 11,040,683 23-24 RESOURCES FY 23-24 DA Budget Details •DA Personnel: 9,705,227 •M&S: 1,823,745 •Some changes you will see: •Overtime (On-call/ OT combined) •Time Management Leave •Education and Training •Investigations •Legal Research •Other inflationary increases 23-24 REQUIREMENTS FY 23-24 DA Fiscal Issues •Implementing PCE Recommendations for FTE. •We are planning to remain status quo to focus on retention. •Considering county’s long-term financial forecast. •Current additional FTE needs per PCE: 2 DDAs, 2 TAs, 1 HR professional and 1 Victim Advocate. •DV grant that funds 1.0 DV Investigator to end 9/30/24. •Will likely apply for additional funding. •JRP DDA .5 grant funded position ending 6/30/23. •P&P to apply for additional funding in September 2023. •Funding is likely to be less. •Holding a .5 DDA vacancy to fill need. Short-term Fiscal Issues Long-term Fiscal Issues Current Challenges and Future Initiatives •Communication & Collaboration Continue to provide Deputy DA-Law Enforcement trainings. Partnering with Community Justice to develop equity plan. •Data Provide a cohesive public dashboard on our newly completed DCDA Website. Create stronger data and metric tracking. •Policy and procedures Improvement of our policies and procedures. •Office structure Development of an efficient internal structure to handle caseload and reduce burnout. •Employee retention & recruitment Since 2018 we have had 20 DDAs term w/ a 6.47 year average. All staff turnover since 2018 has been 42 terms. Recruitment numbers have been low. Cost of living and current wages has impacted recruitment. •Increase in complex cases (e.g. homicides/complex sex abuse) and high caseloads of lesser complexity High turnover of deputy district attorneys results in difficulty staffing these cases with experienced attorneys. •Expungements Increased nearly 125% over the last three years, with 195 requests in 2020 and 833 requests in 2022. •Public record requests Increased by 35% over the last three years, with 454 requests in 2020 and 648 requests in 2022. Challenges Future Initiatives FY 23-24 Special Requests File Storage for 4th Floor Files Priority #1: •Cost: $39,200 one-time request •$10,200 storage fees annually starting FY25 •Funding Source 0011150 (GF/ DAO) Justification Our overall goal is to create usable space in our 4th floor area. Currently, this space is filled with case files. We ideally wanted to get these case files scanned, but after reaching out to a CJIS compliant vendor, we were quoted 2.5 million for this project. In effort to save money, we felt that it would be better to store these case files at an offsite location until we are able to find a more fiscally reasonable solution. We currently use the vendor Moonlight BPO to house a portion of our case files and they are able to quickly locate files, as needed. We will need to fund either staff OT hours or hire a temp help service to pack all of these files into boxes and put on pallets for the move. Moonlight BPO Estimate: Pallets & Supplies –$10,000Boxes -$3,000Pick up pallets -$1,000Storage -$10,200 (Annually) Total: $24,200 Overtime/ Temp Help: $15,000 (600hrs * $25/hour) Overall Total -$39,200 FY 23-24 Special Requests 4th Floor Feasibility Study Priority #2: •Cost: $50,000 one-time request •If feasible, we will submit future special request for remodel •Funding Source 0011150 (GF/ DAO) Justification In effort to create more useable space, we are requesting to complete a feasibility study for the 4th floor of our office in order to renovate/remodel. Currently, this space is used for storing case files, evidence and other miscellaneous items. Facilities has accessed the space and has directed us to first request funding for a feasibility study over the next FY and has quoted us $50,000. This funding will be transferred to Facilities as the work is completed. The lack of space that the DA's office has dealt with has had great impact on our department and staff. Some of these issues include: •Lack of cohesion -It is harder to maintain a cohesive feeling and promote the idea of one team, one office, when employees are scattered about. •Time is wasted -Lack of meeting space is a constant struggle and so much time is wasted just trying to find a place to gather a group. 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 23-24 VAP Budget Details •Beg Net WC: 205,200 •Federal Grant: 135,810 •VOCA (State): 270,129 •VOCA Other (State): 2,000 •Criminal Fine Acct: 101,980 •Interest Revenue: 5,130 •Transfer In GF: 719,813 23-24 RESOURCES 50% 14% 28% 7%0.4% Victims’ Assistance Resources Transfer In Beg. Net WC Federal Government Payments State Government Payments Interest Revenue FY 23-24 VAP Budget Details •Personnel: 1,219,784 •M&S: 107,311 23-24 REQUIREMENTS 7% 85% 8% Victims’ Assistance Requirements Materials and Services Personnel Services Contingency FY 23-24 Special Requests Proactive Threat Monitoring Priority #1: •Full cost: $87,200 Annually •Funding Source: 001 GF Other funding options: $40,000: Fathers Group (Pending grant approval) $20,000: High Desert ESD Contribution (Pending budget approval) $15,000: Law Enforcement Contribution (Pending department approvals) VAP new request: $12,200 Justification SST helps communities address violence and other threat-related issues and critical incidents including gang involvement, racism and incidents of hate. Deschutes County has formed a team that proactively reviews these reports and addresses the subjects of concern as appropriate. Thank you