Washington County leaders discussed the future changes of the county budget on

Tuesday.
The Washington County Quorum Court Finance and Budget Committee is a part of the
legislative branch of government and preforms various duties such as appropriating funds and
providing service to all county affairs. The court consists of 15 members.
The Washington Country Prosecuting Attorney’s Office appealed to the court, “an
ordinance creating three paralegal/ media specialist positions in the prosecuting attorney budget.”
Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett spoke on behalf of the office regarding why he thinks
the employment of the additional paralegals is necessary. The case load of the prosecuting
attorney’s office has increased 38 percent.
“We are requesting three paralegal positions. This is really brought about because of our
increase of case loads,” Durrett said. “Right now, we have three paralegals. They are supposed to
help prosecutors do their day to day job. Now they are doing fewer things directly to help
prosecutors and doing more and more things that are necessary by the office.”
Durrett said that the office’s transition to electronic filing and a new case management
system is not saving as much time as he expected. The prosecuting attorneys have had to help
transfer to electronic filing, which adds “approximately an hour to the average work load,”
Durrett said.
“There is additional work that has come from things that I anticipated were going to be
time savers, but really aren’t,” Durrett said. “It’s not that I think that what the prosecuting
deputies are having to do now is something that that is beneath them. They make pretty good
money to be lawyers and that is what we need them doing, focusing on their cases.”
Durrett said that it is the state’s responsibility to pay for the salaries of prosecuting
attorneys and the county’s responsibility to pay the salaries of all other support staff.
Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison suggested it would be more efficient to hire more
prosecuting attorneys than paralegals.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that we are picking up too much of the state’s
responsibility,” Harbison said. “I understand we are closer to you than they are and it is easier to
come in here and ask us for money, but if your load has increased by 38 percent that occurs to
me that it is time for one or two more deputy prosecutors.”
Durrett said that he is seeking resources from the state every way he can.
“I’m requesting additional prosecutors for the next legislative session because I think we
need those too,” Durrett said. “However, by adding more prosecutors, it just adds more work to
paralegals as well. Simply because there is more work being lumped on the same number of
people.”
Justice of Peace Lisa Ecke suggested that Durrett reach out to the University of Arkansas
to see if any students would be interested in internships.
Durrett said the prosecuting office has contacted the law school about externs. The office
is going to submit a request to have externs during the Fall semester of 2019.
The prosecuting attorney’s office was the first to submit a budget request for 2019. The
court will decide later if the prosecuting office will receive their request.
“We certainly are going to take this all into consideration and we are going to do all we
can to do this, but there is going to be no definite answer,” Justice of the Peace Bill Ussery said.