'There's nobody left to let go': Limestone DA to seek funds from fastest-growing county

Jul. 13—The Limestone County district attorney, facing a budgeting crisis shared by some other DA Offices, which receive only about 30% of the funding they need from the state, is planning to ask the County Commission for $263,924.50 on Monday to replenish his diminished staff.

"My goal is to become a permanent line item in this county's budget," said DA Brian Jones. "This upcoming fiscal year, I'm going to start Oct. 1 $434,689.74 upside down. And if I don't generate that money, then we're going to have to hit the savings account. But we've already pared everything down so thin, there's nobody left to let go."

The money Jones is requesting will pay the salaries of two victim service officers (VSOs) and one assistant DA. Jones said he recently had to lay off a VSO and an ADA, and another VSO, seeing the writing on the wall, retired early. Now, his office essentially has no VSOs. Those duties have been divided among his remaining staff: three full-time ADAs, two part-time ADAs, an investigator, a court cost recovery director, a pretrial diversion director and a trial coordinator.

Alabama DA offices are an extension of the state government and, as such, some local governments are reluctant to supplement funding. For example, the Mobile City Council last year agreed to allocate $1.5 million from the city's budget surplus to support the Mobile County DA's Office, according to AL.com, but they weren't happy about it.

"I see this as a failure of the state of Alabama to properly fund the criminal justice system in this state," said Councilman Joel Daves.

Traditionally, district attorneys make up the gap in their funding through things like court fees, bail bond fees, condemnations — e.g. seizing assets of drug dealers — and speeding tickets. Prosecuting bad checks used to be a "big money maker" for DAs, according to Jones, but few people write checks anymore.

"There's some court costs money that comes to us, and there's been different things like that," explained Lawrence County DA Errek Jett. Jett last month completed his tenure as the president of the Alabama District Attorneys Association. "There's fewer troopers on the road, so there's fewer tickets being written. So, all these other funds have kind of dwindled. Money is just always an issue."

Jett said the state's 42 district attorneys decide among themselves how to divvy up the funds allocated from the state, and those funds typically cover 25-30% of an office's operating costs.

"There's so few of us, we all know each other, and we all talk regularly," he said. "I would say, from Brian's standpoint, he's in one of the fastest growing areas in the state. The need is great there."

Although Jett's office is second-to-last in terms of money received from the state, he has avoided laying anyone off or requesting funding from Lawrence County.

"I'm personally not going to my county because I know the revenue situation there," he said. "We're hurting all over."

Still, the tight budget can have a real-world effect on justice. For example, during a recent capital murder case, Jett had to seriously consider whether his office could afford to spend $1,000 to fly in a witness who had relocated to Texas.

The Morgan County District Attorney's Office receives virtually no funding from their county.

"It's very minimal, because it's a state agency," said Morgan County Commission Chairman Ray Long. "In our general budget, it looks like we give them around $12,000."

DA Scott Anderson said that money is not "direct funding," but rather "in kind" assistance.

"Whatever we do in the courthouse, they (the DA's Office) are beneficiaries of that, but it's not necessarily supplemental funding," explained Julie Reeves, the chief administrative officer of the Morgan County Commission.

In contrast, the Madison County District Attorney's Office receives significant funding from its county.

"The Madison County Commission approved $3,297,064 in support for the District Attorney's Office" in fiscal year 2024, said Joseph White, the director of financial planning and analysis for the Madison County Commission. "This supplement to their office is used to cover the salaries and benefits paid through the Madison County payroll system."

Jones said his budget is not a state problem but a county problem.

"Crime is in Limestone County," he said. "And the citizens of this community who are victims, or potential victims, deserve to be protected by the county. One of the basic responsibilities of the government is to keep its people safe. We have worked hard with the state, we're very thankful for the Legislature, but we've got to come to the county and say, 'Look, you've got to help out.'"

Last month, Jones sent out a letter to around 700 felony victims. In it, he claimed the County Commission has been unable to distribute funds from opioid settlements. The state's Opioid Settlement Oversight Commission encourages recipients of such funds to spend them on treatment and recovery, rather than law enforcement.

"He's been asking for that money lately," said Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly. "It's nothing new; he asks for money all the time. We're trying to put that money into helping people. That's what it was designed for, not to prosecute them."

Jones' letter to victims asks them to call and email County Commission members.

"Without your help, and without the Commission's vote to fund the District Attorney's Office, I am afraid that you as a victim will suffer obtaining the justice you deserve as a citizen of Limestone County," said Jones in the letter.

Daly's wife received one of the letters.

"My wife got robbed at gunpoint a year ago on Valentine's Day," Daly said. "My wife received a letter in the mail from his office, mailed with taxpayers' money, and he said that he might not be able to prosecute my wife's case because of the County Commission not funding his budget. He mailed that to my wife. It was kind of disturbing. Is that ethically right?"

Daly said the Commission spends a large portion of its budget on the Limestone County Sheriff's Office.

"The only way that we could give him money is if we pulled it from the public safety side," he said. "We can't afford to cut the sheriff's budget to give him money."

Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin said he supports Jones' effort to secure county funding.

"In order for them (the DA's Office) to effectively carry out their duties, they must receive adequate funding and resources," he said. "This includes additional funding to ensure they have the necessary staff to handle and prosecute cases properly. Without proper support, our criminal justice system may face challenges in successfully holding individuals that our office has charged accountable for their actions."

Daly said he has offered to write letters and speak to legislators on behalf of Jones' budget woes.

"There's other departments that need employees, too," he said. "He can raise court fees, or he can go prosecute people and collect court fees. If we had anything left over, we might consider it."

Jones said he's done everything he can already to keep costs down. Every morning, he checks the balance on his computer, and it worries him.

"I literally spend more time dealing with money than I do practicing law," he said.

— david.gambino@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2438.