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WILKES-BARRE — Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis delivered a passionate pitch for three additional assistant district attorneys during Tuesday’s council budget work session.
“I don’t know how much longer we can continue with the positions we have,” she said. “I’m trying to do my best to keep us from sinking.”
The office currently has 28 attorneys on staff to handle all county criminal prosecution, Salavantis said, noting she included her own position in the mix.
On the criminal defense side, the public defender’s office has 29 attorneys on staff, which includes the chief public defender and first assistant.
The county also employs six conflict counsel attorneys who step in when the public defender’s office can’t handle a case, and some defendants retain their own private legal counsel, she said.
“We are outnumbered. It’s becoming overwhelming,” said Salavantis, who was re-elected to a second, four-year term in 2015.
She wants to create two assistant district attorney positions at $43,000 each and a third part-time assistant district attorney job at $30,000. The county also budgets approximately $12,000 for benefits, although the county health insurance cost would be approximately $20,500 if employees opt for family health coverage, said county Budget/Finance Division Head Brian Swetz.
Salavantis said she initially sought five assistant DAs, but county manager C. David Pedri said he’d only be willing to recommend three.
Councilman Rick Williams asked the district attorney if it would be feasible to offset the expense by reducing support staff or eliminating one of nine detective positions.
Salavantis said those employees are strained with increasing workloads. More detectives are needed to assist municipal police departments with homicides and other crimes, although adding prosecutors is more pressing, she said.
While some of the additional demands stem from the new central court, Salavantis said she would be requesting additional prosecutors regardless because the attorneys are juggling too many cases.
Councilman Eugene Kelleher asked why the office employs part-time prosecutors with benefits. Salavantis said these attorneys have extensive experience and handle most major cases, but they would not be willing to give up their private practices for full-time employment. The part-timers work far more than the required 1,000 hours per year, she said.
As usual, the compensation for unionized detectives was discussed. Three receive salaries between $68,137 and $68,799. The salary is $98,247 for a fourth, and the other five are paid more than $100,000, with the chief detective compensation set at $108,359, county records say.
To receive this compensation, detectives must work 32.5 hours per week, said Kelleher.
“In today’s world with what’s happening in this county, you could see why people would get upset with that,” Kelleher said.
Councilman Robert Schnee gestured at Pedri seated next to him, saying the manager is paid within range of the compensation for several detectives, even though Pedri is responsible for 1,400 employees and daily operations of the entire county government. Pedri’s salary is budgeted at $124,848 in 2018, which includes a 2 percent increase set when he was hired to the top post in May 2016.
Salavantis said the detective union contract is in negotiation, and the county is “trying to get them to budge a little.”
Schnee said he will support the three new positions.
“It’s not a wish list,” he said.
Councilwoman Eileen Sorokas asked if Salavantis can get by with two new positions — one full-time and one part-time. Salavantis said she is prudent with county funds but is “begging” for all three because prosecutors need help.
“It’s a balancing act at this point, and I’m nervous that we’re just going to fall,” she said.
Her proposed budget is $4.5 million, a $161,287 increase from 2017. She also asked council to consider earmarking approximately $8,000, which was not included in the manager-submitted budget, to fund 2 percent raises for non-union staffers.