ASHLAND – Ashland County Prosecutor Chris Tunnell said he expects criminal filings in the county to be down at least 15 percent this year compared to last.
Tunnell reported his findings to Ashland County Commissioners on Dec. 7. He said his office saw 201 filings in 2016 and has had just 151 so far in 2017. He anticipates approximately 20 more this year.
The prosecutor attributes the drop not to a decrease in crime but to changes in enforcement and processing of drug cases.
One factor, he said, is new laws providing immunity for low-level drug possession in overdose cases.
Rather than facing prosecution, first-time drug possession offenders are given an assessment and connected with treatment resources following an overdose.
Offenders have two chances at immunity, and Tunnell said a small number of people who have completed the assessments and been given immunity have later faced charges after multiple overdoses.
“This year, we’re also experiencing a delay on chargeable cases. BCI, led by the attorney general, which is the state laboratory, they primarily do all the testing for us, and they currently are four to six months behind,” Tunnell said. “Four months is their expedited schedule.”
Tunnell expects many indictments that come from the December grand jury will be for offenses that occurred six months ago.
The county does send some evidence to Mansfield’s laboratory for quicker turnaround times, but that costs more money and is done only in rare cases.
The prosecutor’s update came as part of Tunnell’s presentation of his budget request for 2018.
Tunnell is asking for $757,087 for his office, up from the 2017 budget of $753,766. His proposal keeps most budget areas constant, but includes a request for a 3-percent raise for employees, who he referred to as his office’s greatest resource.
Many employees in the office could leave and go into private practice and make twice as much money, he argued.
Also during Thursday’s meeting, Ashland County Soil and Water Conservation District and Ashland’s Ohio State University Extension Program presented budget requests for 2018.
Soil and Water asked for $157,000, approximately the same budget it had this year.
The extension program, which runs educational outreach and is best known for 4-H, asked for $92,364, up from the $70,000 it has received in each of the last several years.
“We really are not sure how we are going to continue if our funding stays level as it has since 2010,” said extension educator Kathy Blackford. “We’ve made it last for seven years, but we really now are at the breaking point.”
The extension office receives some money from the county, but it also receives significant contributions from the state and federal government, as well as from private donations.
Blackford presented enrollment numbers showing 4-H club has grown each year since 2014. School enrichment program numbers have also increased dramatically.
“I know everybody has to be reactive and respond to the emergencies in the community,” Blackford said. “We’re trying to look at the other end and make sure those kids don’t get to be those emergencies.”
