Prosecutor cautions commissioners on further budget cuts

Highland County Prosecutor Jim Grandey cautioned county commissioners on further budget reductions in his office next year.

Speaking at the Dec. 23 meeting of the Highland County Commission, Grandey said he had budget-related questions as the commissioners plan 2010.

"We all took oaths to uphold the Constitution of Ohio," Grandey said. "We are close to violating that oath {with further cuts}. If offices are going beyond statutory duties, it's a real concern to me."

Grandey said there are funds that his office is entitled to by law, but he has avoided asking for those dollars in order to "free up general fund

money."

"When do we tell people we can't prosecute {certain felonies} because of the funding cuts?" Grandey asked. "Some of us are not being funded to do what we are mandated to do. Everybody's in the same boat. I realize that. But I want to make this pitch as you are looking to the new year.

"When we look at some agencies that overspent their appropriations, I'm just not sure how that happens."

County Commissioner Tom Horst replied, "Their boards made those decisions."

"I've got some real concerns for where we are going in the county," Grandey said.

Grandey said the clerical salaries in his office are approximately 90 percent of what one of the county courts is paying. He also said two

attorneys in his office average $55,000 a year, as opposed to $71,000 in another office.

In addition, Grandey said he would hate to see the Highland County Victim-Witness program shut down. "You have the premier Victim-Witness program in Ohio," Grandey said.

At a November commissioners meeting, commissioners and the prosecutor discussed a possible levy earmarked for law enforcement agencies.

“If our revenues keep going down like they are, we may have to consider it,” Commissioner Gary Heaton said. “A good 60 percent of the budget is geared toward law enforcement agencies and the courts.”