Prosecutor says Marsy's Law will require additional funding

Richland County Prosecutor Jodi Schumacher gave the county commissioners a heads up Tuesday that new requirements under Marsy’s Law, a crime victim notification law that went into effect April 6, most likely will result in her office asking for more funding in 2024. Jodi Schumacher said one of the major changes will require one additional employee to serve as victim advocate in Juvenile Court.

“The new mandates require the applications of performances of duties that we have never fulfilled within our office,” Schumacher said. “Effective April 6 there are many notice requirements, information that has to be passed along, consultations that have to be had with the victims within certain time parameters.”

Schumacher, who was appointed prosecutor on Tuesday to fill the remaining term of Gary Bishop, who resigned in April and died May 8, said the advocacy program previously stopped at the time of final disposition — either conviction and criminal sentencing in Common Pleas Court or a disposition in Juvenile Court.

“Marsy's Law now requires us to follow an offender all the way through prison or DYS (Department of Youth Services) and to give continual updates to the victim. For example, if the offender is seeking early release or if there is an appeal filed, we have to walk the victims through the appellate process and notify them of any outcomes or hearings,” she said.

Schumacher noted that the statutory guidelines in the law allow the Common Pleas Court judges to delegate any obligations of the court under Marsy’s Law to the prosecutor’s office, which the judges have done.

“While our office was performing many of these duties, there are additional notices, requests that we have to attain, notices that have to be given to advocates, consultations that have to be provided to the victims that hadn’t ever been before, most notably, as it impacts our office, are the juvenile court mandates.”

Schumacher said that while Juvenile Court currently has had a victims’ advocate in place, the law says the prosecutor’s office shall have a juvenile court advocate not only for adult crimes but also for crimes committed by delinquents. She said her understanding through conversations with juvenile court officials of the court’s current victims’ advocate is that the person collects information for restitution and contact information and gives notices.

“That’s not what our advocates do and that’s, I don’t believe, is what an advocate actually is envisioned to do, especially when you look at Marsy’s Law. It’s to explain the process,” Schumacher said.

Schumacher said the addition of a Juvenile Court advocate would increase the 2023 budget for advocate services to $227,365, which includes a $45,697 salary plus benefits for the new employee. She noted that $62,526 of the operational cost is covered by grants and that the additional staff member could be covered by the current budget because the office has a number of vacancies.

Schumacher called the new Marsy’s Law requirements “unfunded mandates,” although she said the Ohio Legislature is considering a bill that will provide a total of $8 million statewide to help counties cover those costs.

Commissioners OK vendor contracts

Commissioners also met with Central Services Coordinator Rachel Troyer to discuss and approve an advertising contract with the Shelby Globe that includes a slight increase for legal notices and advertising as well as a final one-year renewal with Rumpke for trash collection service at 38 locations at county facilities. The county currently pays Rumpke $17,662 per year for services at general fund facilities and $31,913 at non-general fund operations.

Commissioners also approved a resolution to enter into a master intergovernmental cooperative purchase agreement with Equalis Group for a group purchasing program. County Business Manager Andrew Keller said Equalis Group is a multi-state purchasing consortium that has “hundreds” of contracts that have been competitively bid by one of the group’s lead governmental agencies, including a cooperative council of governments in Ohio.

“This allows the commissioners to quickly proceed with necessary projects that might be over the ($50,000) bid threshold and will, hopefully, lead to a cost and time savings for projects where it makes sense,” Keller said.

As an example he pointed to upcoming elevator and roof projects that are expected to have contracts later this week that are price construction contracts that have been bid with the Equalis Group which will allow the board to quickly address those issues. He noted that the contract could save a month or two on the time it would take for procurement.

Action on Black Fork cleanup delayed

Commissioner Tony Vero announced that the board will not be formally asking County Engineer Adam Gove for an estimate this week on alternative solutions to cleaning the Black Fork River upstream of Shelby as it indicated it would during a hearing last week on a Black Fork ditch petition. A joint board of Richland and Crawford County commissioners indicated that Gove’s initial proposal was too expensive.

Vero said attorney Jon Burton, who serves as the joint board’s legal counsel, asked that no formal action be taken until he issues a legal opinion on what portions of recommendations from other agencies that were part of Gove’s plan must be followed and which could be ignored.

Commissioners also voted following an executive session to move Kevin Owens from a billing clerk to administrative assistant at the county wastewater operations at a salary of $16.17 per hour and to authorize up to 36 hours of overtime for training. The addition of an assistant was recommended by Wastewater Director Amanda Miller to help with the growing amount of required paperwork.

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Richland County commissioners told that Marsy's Law will add expenses