(The Center Square) – The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is set to cut 12 federally funded positions for the 2026-2027 budget biennium.
On Monday, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett told the Public Safety Committee that 12 full-time positions will have to be cut as a result of no more American Rescue Plan Act dollars coming to the department in 2026 and beyond.
ARPA funding went toward the office’s felony case backlog that totaled 2,500 in early 2022. That number is now around 1,800, which Robnett said is closer to normal levels.
The 12 positions set to be cut will save the county approximately $3.35 million, and reduce the department’s largest division – the criminal division – by 6.5%. The criminal division includes 197 full-time positions, representing 65% of the total 263 positions within the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Robnett said her office has kept positions vacant in anticipation of ARPA funding drying up. However, the prosecuting attorney’s office is handling growing issues with fewer staff. For instance, attorneys are now handling more serious cases than in previous years. Last year, 54% of the 7,155 referrals Robnett’s office received were violent crimes, tying 2021 for highest percentage post COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Robnett’s presentation, the implementation of police body-worn cameras has also significantly increased attorneys’ workload as they see more evidence to review for cases. Storage space within the prosecuting attorney’s office’s system is running out with all the body-worn camera footage as well.
“We’re running out of storage space. We get hard drives for our attorneys to take the discovery storage to work on a case, so that they’re not working on the system because it would slow it down,” Robnett said during the committee meeting.
The department has not been able to keep up staffing levels compared to justice partners. Between 2000 and 2018, the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had 0% growth compared to its justice partners. Between 2000 and 2027, the office’s growth will be at 15% due to the removal of the ARPA positions. This represents half the growth of the department’s justice partners.
