Hancock County Prosecutor Brent Eaton said he was pleased county officials saw the need to hire more employees for his department in 2024.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Thee Hancock County Prosecutor’s office is one step closer to hiring three more employees in 2024 as well as giving raises to current employees.
Late last week, the Hancock County Council, during another stage in the budget process, approved Prosecutor Brent Eaton’s request for help. That help may come in the hiring of a new victims’ advocate assistant, a new paralegal and another attorney.
“The Prosecutor’s Office has the most significant impact of all offices on the functioning of the justice system and public safety,” Eaton said. “If cases are not filed and prosecuted effectively there is not public safety.”
In addition to the three new employees Eaton asked for and received, there would be preliminary pay increases for the administrative staff of 10% and an 8% increase in pay for deputy prosecutors.
“We know this is the first step of a lengthy approval process, but we are so thankful to be heading in the right direction,” Eaton said. “We feel like they really heard us and we are grateful and encouraged as it looks like they took to heart some of the things we have been talking about for the last year.”
Hancock County Council President Jeannine Gray said county officials know public safety is a priority even when the budget is tight.
“We know we are facing crunch time, with the crunching of a lot of numbers right now, but the one thing we can’t afford to do is to get so far behind with pay and people in the prosecutor’s office that we can’t catch up,” Gray said.
Gray noted preliminary approval will allow Eaton to get caught up and keep pace with other prosecutor offices around the state.
“Once we get all of the numbers from last week’s budget session entered into the system, we’ll be able to take a glance at where we are and we’ll know where we need to make cuts and we’re willing to do that,” Gray said.
For several months, Eaton has been pleading with county officials telling them the prosecutor’s office is in crisis.
“The local justice system is on the verge of collapse,” Eaton said. “The staffing levels allocated to run this office fall approximately 25% below what has been recommended by our state organization and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC).”
The pleas did not fall on deaf ears as the county council approved Eaton’s’ request for the new employees as well as raises for his current staff who Eaton noted were grossly underpaid compared to prosecutor offices of comparable size.
“The county council had a sub-committee to review the wages and staffing of the office and it saw that the wages that are offered for positions within this office fall anywhere from 8% to 10% on average below the average of similar communities,” Eaton said. “Our open positions go weeks on end with no applicants to fill them.”
Eaton went on to say the rates of pay his office currently offers are so inadequate that staffing agencies will not help them even seek out applicants because the rates of pay are so far below market value.
“I have made repeated request in writing for a long-term plan to address these needs,” Eaton said.
The prosecutor’s office is currently working with six attorneys. There are two openings, which they’re having trouble filling. Adding another lawyer and pay increases, if approved, will take the attorney staff to nine, which is still three shy of the state average of 12.
Eaton went as far to say in a memo presented to the council when he was making his pleas this year that, “the appearance is our pleading for assistance and help in addressing these critical needs has fallen upon deaf ears.”
Gray noted it’s not that county officials have not heard his requests, but more along the lines of county officials having to pick which battles they can actually tackle.
“We’ve got to fight the fights we can win,” Gray said. “With the prosecutor’s office, we feel we will be able to move forward and put something in the winners’ column for him.”
Eaton infromed the council othat his office has performed more than 3,400 hours of paid and unpaid overtime in the last two years. He said that is due to a small group of dedicated public servants who have held the line to continue to provide superb service in the community despite a lack of support.
“These requests are needed because our office is exhausted and stretched beyond its limit,” Eaton said of the raises and need for more employees.
“I simply cannot continue to provide the level of service needed at the current funding and staffing levels,” Eaton said.
Further approval from the county and state officials will still need to happen before all money matters are final.
