Kent County panel approves adding six assistant prosecutors under state grant, flags sustainability questions

The Kent County Board of Commissioners Policy and Operations Committee voted to approve a request to add six assistant prosecuting attorney full-time equivalents supported by a Michigan Department of Treasury local prosecutor support grant and referred the item to the full Board of Commissioners for final approval.

Administrator Al told the committee the county ‘‘has been working hard for years’’ to secure the state funding, that contractual language delays in the House bill slowed distribution, and that the prosecutor’s office advertised early and identified six strong attorney candidates. ‘‘We should have a contract in hand any day now,’’ Al said, adding that hires will not begin until the county has a signed reimbursement agreement with the state.

A commissioner identified that the original grant application included three additional non-attorney roles—two advocates and one investigator—that are not part of the current resolution. The Minority Vice Chair asked why the resolution approves six attorney FTEs rather than nine total positions. Administrator Al said the prosecutor plans a phased approach: attorneys would be hired first, and the county will return with a separate action request in a subsequent fiscal-year phase for the remaining three positions once pay and benefit costs are clarified.

Several commissioners warned the committee the grant funds are reimbursement-based and that the award appears to be a limited stream, raising the prospect that newly hired positions could create future general-fund obligations. One commissioner asked whether the additions move the prosecutor’s office toward ‘‘parity’’ with public defenders; Al and others said measuring parity is ambiguous and that the various funding streams are not necessarily linked.

The committee motion was made by Commissioner Ste, supported by Commissioner Dbor, and approved in committee; the record notes the item will go before the full board on Thursday. The transcript does not include vote tallies.