HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Commission Meeting of Bozeman, Montana Agenda Packet 2007-03-05 18-00_4-19_3_00pm_3_15pm_ City AttorneyCITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
BUDGET REQUESTS
Significant Budget Request FY 08:
2 FTE (in order of preference): 1 attorney criminal prosecution
1 legal assistant
Estimated Cost:
POSITION EMPLOYEE
NAME
FTE HOURLY
RATE
ANNUAL
SALARY
(Not Including
Benefits)
X New
□
Promote
1050.Assistant
City Attorney
I (prosecution)
NA 1.0 $40,000 -50,000
X New
□
Promote
2.Legal
Assistant
(level between
the two
current
secretaries)
NA 1.0 $28,000-32,00
Funding Source:
The funding of the FTE Attorney will be .5 Building Fund and .5 Justice
Grant Money (if no grant money, .5 general fund). If the funding is from either of
these two sources, the work of the attorney will need to be tied to the funding
source. General fund provides the most flexibility. The para-legal will be from
the general fund.
Supporting Justifications for Request:
See attached slides.
Other Significant Increase:
Montana Code Annotated is printed every two years shortly after the
legislative session. A set of codes is purchased for each attorney and the library.
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CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
FY 08 BUDGET REQUEST
Significant Budget Request
•Assistant City Attorney I
–(prosecution)
–$40,000 -50,000.
•Legal Assistant
–Legal Assistant (level between the two current
secretaries)
–$28,000-32,00
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Bozeman City Attorney’s Office
Current Configuration
City Attorney
Paul Luwe
Legal Assistant I –Bette Abelman
Assistant City Attorney
Susan Wordal
Criminal Division
Assistant City Attorney
Tim Cooper
Civil Division
Assistant City Attorney
Patricia Day-Moore
Civil Division -Deployed
Legal Assistant II –Heather Bienvenue
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Staffing Comparison
Bozeman/Billings/Missoula
16 (21)
1
1
2
1
7
3
0
3.5
2.5
Missoula
Support Staff
2.5*Victim / Witness (Domestic Violence)
00Legal Interns / Law Students –School Year
00Legal Interns / Law Students –Summer
136.5Total
00Clerk
30Legal Secretary
02Legal Assistant
00Office Manager
3.51Criminal Attorneys
4.53wCivil Attorneys
BillingsBozemanAttorneys / VW Professionals / Legal Interns
w Includes Attorney on Deployment and unavailable
* Is member of County Attorney Victim Services Office
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Staffing Comparison:
Bozeman City Attorney and
Gallatin County Attorney
17.56.5Total
52Legal Assistants
Support Staff
10Victim/Witness [Property (non-violent) Crimes]
1.5.5Victim/Witness (Domestic Violence)
8* 1Criminal Attorneys
3*3Civil Attorneys
CountyCityAttorneys/VW Professionals
Criminal Attorneys in the County handle both misdemeanors and felonies, but 3 attorneys handle
primarily the misdemeanor cases. Legal Assistants are Paralegals in both offices, but in the County,
one secretary is assigned to civil issues only. * denotes M. Lambert counted in both categories.
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STANDARDS
•Current Montana Public Defenders Office
–300 misdemeanor cases per attorney
•ABA Standard for Public Defenders
–400 misdemeanor casesper attorney
•National Prosecutor Standard 8.1
“The prosecutor should have funds
made available to hire legal staff sufficient
to handle the legal responsibility of the
office…”
10
Open Criminal Case Files
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
2001 2003 2005 thru
2/07
11
Personnel
27 27 31
39 41 45
57
1 1 1 1 1.75 1.75 10
10
20
30
40
50
60
1991 1992 1995 2000 2004 2005 2006
YearPersonnel Officers
prosecutors
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Changes in Criminal Justice System
in Gallatin County
Ø Creation of PreTrialServices Office
Ø Addition of PreTrialcheck-in with alcohol/drug testing
Ø Addition of PreTrialElectronic Monitoring
Ø Addition of Misdemeanor Probation Officer
(handling only PFMA and other limited offenses based on
recidivism concerns)
Ø Re-introduction: State Public Defender’s Office
Ø 3 attorneys assigned to Municipal Court cases
Ø Increase in monitoring of Defendant “No Shows”for jail time or Work
Program (= misdemeanor Escape)
13
Workload Justification for Additional
Prosecutor
Ø 1 attorney has primary responsibility for three times the recommended case load
Ø Prosecution standard for PFMA, Stalking, Violation of Orders of Protection, DUI and Negligent Vehicular Assault cases compromised due to case load
Ø Lack of time for Prosecutor to meet with Victims before trial orat the time of interviews scheduled by defense investigators
Ø 6-8 Jury trials are set each T/F, requiring preparation for multiple trials
Ø Case review limited to Omnibus preparation and trial preparation, limiting appropriate service to victims
Ø Increase in number of high dollar damage accidents caused by DUIdefendants and lack of Prosecutor or staff time to properly research and collect restitution data
Ø Vacations, Continuing Education, Departmental (BPD/MSU PD) Trainings, Sick leave issues seriously affected by lack of sufficient back-up
Ø Court continually refers individuals to Prosecutor for consultation before entry of a plea because a prosecutor is not available during open court (M/W/Th8:30 –10 or later) to settle cases, increasing file numbers and affecting productivity
Ø Inability to establish office hours for settlement conferences with Pro Se defendants
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STANDARDS
•Commentary to National Prosecutor
Standard 8.1
The prosecutor’s office should be
considered a law firm whose client is the
general public. As such, the client
deserves the best possible legal
representation. In addition to qualified
staff, the prosecuting attorney should be
funded to hire sufficient staff to handle the
office workload. (emphasis added).
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Workload Justification for Addition
Legal Secretary
Ø Legal Assistants handle all files in the office
Ø Legal Assistants handle all phone calls and walk-ins (no receptionist)
Ø No Additions have been made to support staff since before 2000
•Temporary Staff has been necessary to catch up and stay even with office demands
Ø Increase in quantity and complexity of criminal cases, includingmedia for discovery (DVDs, digital recordings, etc.)
ü Attorneys forced to prepare and file documents
ü Organize files
ü Respond to some discovery requests
Ø Only 2 staff people for four full-time attorneys, multiple outside civil counsel, and a .25 contract attorney
ü Sick/vacation time difficult
ü Private firm: 1 legal secretary per 2-3 attorneys
ü County: 5 secretaries for 10 attorneys
16
Anticipated Impacts on Office
•Legislative Changes in Criminal Code and Supreme
Court rulings
–Need for Police Department training
•Addition of Building Code Enforcement Officer
17
Funding Source
•Attorney:
–.5 Building
–.5 Grant or General Fund
–limitations
•Secretary
–General Fund
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