Davis explains options if cuts made

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December 11, 2008

Hopes to use drug forfeiture money to offset budget reductions

By AMBER DILLEY The Glasgow Daily Times Thu Dec 11, 2008, 10:45 AM CST

GLASGOW — Education may not be the only sector that takes a hit from possible 4 percent cuts this year.

County attorneys and commonwealth’s attorneys statewide have also been asked to come up with a plan to cut 4 percent of their budgets.

“We have to come up with something by Dec. 19,” said Karen Davis, Barren-Metcalfe commonwealth’s attorney. “We’re considering all three options presented to us. We’ll be going back to Frankfort before it’s all finalized.”

The three options presented by the Prosecutors Advisory Council to the local attorneys are furloughs, staff salary budget reductions and layoffs.

According to a letter sent to Gov. Steve Beshear from the council, furloughs would be mandated for the entire staff for three one-week periods from Jan. 1, 2009, to May 31, 2009.

The second option is staff salary budgets would have to be reduced at least 15 percent.

If layoffs are chosen, at least 161 people statewide would be laid off initially, with the potential for more than 200 people being laid off due to the cost of unemployment benefits that must be handled by the Unified Prosecutorial System.

According to the office of the attorney general, for the fiscal year that started July 1, 2008, and will end June 31, 2009, the staff salary budget for Karen Davis’ office was $261,178.

A 4 percent cut in that budget would mean a little more than $10,000 less for Davis and her staff.

Davis said the best option for her office would be to pick the furloughs for staff.

“We may be able to make that up with asset forfeiture funds, so hopefully my staff isn’t required to be out any salary amount,” Davis said. “We are being allowed to use those funds to make up for the reduction each office has to come up with.”

Davis explained that the office has funds from recent drug cases where cash or real estate has been forfeitured.

“The requirement was that all the staff has to take three weeks of unpaid furlough,” she said. “If I had enough assets to cover one week then employees would only be out two weeks. Or, if I had enough for two weeks, they’d only be out one week.”

Davis said she thinks the Barren-Metcalfe jurisdiction won’t be terribly effected by this round of cuts, but is worried about the future.

“I’m concerned that another cut will be required in July,” she said. “If I use all my money now to cover this, what are we going to do when July rolls around?”

According to a news release sent by Janet Graham, deputy assistant attorney general, the commonwealth’s attorneys are facing a budget shortfall of more than $1.3 million in fiscal year 2009. That equals funding for 84 employees.

Ray Larson, Fayette County commonwealth’s attorney, said in a statement he worried about the effect the cuts would have on public safety. “This is the worst budget crisis and potentially the most dangerous public safety crisis I have seen in the last 30 years.”

Davis said she would continue to work with Frankfort to see that the cuts will have minimal effect on her office.

“We hope we don’t have to lay off anyone, but it will come down to the numbers,” she said. “We just have to see how it all shakes out. At the meeting, they told us that the outlook was extremely bleak.”

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