St. Louis County Executive Sam Page says that the county prosecutor’s office needs money, and quick, or else they’ll be in for “rolling layoffs.”
According to a letter Page sent the County Council on Friday, if there is no action on proposed supplemental funds at tomorrow’s council meeting, the office run by congressman-to-be Wesley Bell won’t be able to cover all its salaries through the end of the year.
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“With a reduced and understaffed office, the ability of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to prosecute cases—and maintain public safety—will be severely hindered,” Page wrote. He added that an already high jail population would likely continue to grow absent timely prosecutions.
Page blames the strapped budget on a collective bargaining agreement that took effect in June, retirement payouts, and the 2024 budget for the office being set at $681,771 less than what was requested.
Last week, Fox 2’s Chris Hayes reported on an internal email, sent by the office’s budget manager to staff, that detailed the dire financial shortfall. “Supplies cannot be ordered by any department….we are out of envelopes and paper…I just paid the last phone bill that can be paid this year,” it read in part. The email also said that invoices to REJIS, a database used by law enforcement, were going unpaid.
Chris King, a spokesman for the office, told Hayes the shortfall was due to the state government not paying the $54,000 owed for work that county prosecutors have done going after tax delinquents on behalf of Missouri’s Department of Revenue. The office has not been paid for that work since May.
King tells SLM that the nonpayment from Jefferson City is a financial stressor for the office in addition to the factors highlighted by Page. “They’re both true, but they’re two separate things,” he says, adding that they affect different parts of the office’s budget.
Wherever the hole in the budget is coming from, Page wants the county council to patch it up tomorrow. “Any further inaction will jeopardize public safety,” he wrote.
