MANSFIELD — Richland County commissioners praised the proposed 2023 budget submitted Thursday by county Prosecutor Gary Bishop, a $2.2 million request that largely mirrors this year’s spending plan.
But in response to media questions, Bishop quickly said he was not pleased with the budget, saying his office needs additional staff to combat a rising crime wave.
“Not at all (pleased),” said Bishop, midway through his second four-year term in office. “But I have been told to stop asking (for more). It doesn’t do any good.
“So we are trying to be grateful for what we have been given and have tried to come up with a reasonable budget,” the prosecutor said. “But we continue to play catchup to a crime wave that is sweeping the country.”
Bishop has frequently asked commissioners for additional funds, including last year’s budget session, when the prosecutor asked for funds to stop a “revolving door” of attorneys in his office.
Bishop said Thursday his criminal prosecution team of six and a half attorneys handles 1,400 case intakes a year on average.
By comparison, he said Ashland County “has a population half of ours and handles less than 250 (criminal) cases a year with three people.”
In addition to criminal case work, Bishop’s office is the official legal advisor for county and township government offices.
Bishop, who has been practicing law since 1987, said several factors make it difficult for his office to retain staff.
He sad attorneys want to be respected. Instead, he said, they are criticized on all sides, including by judges who say the office indicts too many people; law enforcement officers who want to see their cases prosecuted; and by victims of crime.
“There is a lack of respect for what they do,” Bishop said.
The prosecutor said his staff members want to feel they have “meaningful employment” and feel “they are making a difference in the community.”
He said that’s become more difficult when two thirds of his office’s cases involve drug crimes that state lawmakers have “taken the teeth out of” in terms of enforcement.
“My attorneys work on (these drug cases) day after day, knowing nothing will come out of it,” he said. “(Drug defendants) will get probation instead of jail and then violate that probation and still not go to prison.”
The prosecutor said he believes in drug treatment, but said the pendulum has swung too far.
“I know we cannot arrest our way out (of the drug problem), but that doesn’t mean we should just stop arresting drug criminals. Treatment doesn’t work if there is no accountability,” Bishop said.
Also, the prosecutor said attorneys who have left his office “have explained time and time again” it’s because they can go to another county and make more money with a smaller caseload.
“Why come to Richland County when life is better elsewhere?” Bishop asked.
The prosecutor’s budget calls for 3 percent salary increases for staff members in 2023 with $1,279,225 of his $2,290,991 budget devoted to employee salaries.
Commissioners complimented Bishop for “bringing up salaries along the way” for his staff members.
Bishop said his office needs sufficient staffing to provide 10 attorneys devoted to criminal work.
“I am realistic enough to know we’re not going to get to 10 people this year or next year. Eventually, that day will come. We will just try to hold the line until then,” he said.
The budget discussion was one of four commissioners conducted on Thursday. Others dealt with the Child Support Enforcement Administration office, the county building department and the local Job & Family Services department.
Commissioners will continue budget discussions next week and plan to finalize a 2023 spending plan by the end of December.
