Drees: Case backlog will continue to grow

By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

The Ellis County Commission will not provide an additional $35,000 in budget authority for the county attorney to return his office to five full-time prosecutors.

Earlier this year, County Attorney Tom Drees asked the commission for the additional funds to bring his office back to the previous staffing levels. In November, Assistant County Attorney Chris Lyon, who was only considered a part-time employee stepped down from his position with Ellis County, leaving the county with four full-time attorneys.

Drees said the additional $35,423 would allow him to hire a fifth full-time attorney.

In February, several members of the attorney’s office and local law enforcement officials spoke in favor of re-establishing the fifth position.

At Monday’s meeting, all three commissioners acknowledged the importance of the work done in the attorney’s office but said the current budget situation made it hard for them to find the extra funds. Commissioner Butch Schlyer said the request was poor timing.

“The county’s financial situation is just really, really bad. Your timing on this is just atrocious,” said Schlyer. “I really have reservations, from my part in this, about allowing that extra $35,000 because it’s going to have to come from some other department somehow or somewhere.”

As part of his budget presentation last month, County Administrator Phillip Smith-Hanes presented the commission with a five-year projection that showed the county having a negative unencumbered cash balance of negative $509,000 at the end of 2021.

Smith-Hanes said they determined the county will need to reduce expenses and increase revenues by $2 million. Commission Chair Dan Haselhorst said Monday he’s not confident giving the extra money to Drees in their current situation.

“Just trying to decide where we’re going to come up with another $35,000 when we are $2 million short,” Haselhorst said.

Drees said he understands the position the commission is in and said they will continue to make do with what they are provided.

“This is reality. This is governing,” Drees said. “The commissioners have to allocate their money. We department heads take the money they’ll give and we do the best we can with it.”

But with the reduction in staff, the backlog in court cases is still expected to grow.

Drees said his office had nearly 1,500 reports last year and each prosecutor can work about 200 to 250 reports a year, so his office is left with a backlog that will continue to pile up.

He said he hopes to discuss the position during the 2020 budget process later this year.

In other business, the commission:

• Approved the sale of a 1-acre tract of land that was part of a half-section sold to a Victoria couple. The deed shows the county purchased the property in 1932 but there is no documentation as to why. The county paid $50 for it in 1932 and agreed to sell it for $800 Monday.
• Heard an update from fair officials on drainage issues at the fairgrounds.
• Approved the emergency operations plan, which lays out the responsibilities of each department in the event of a disaster.