LAS VEGAS - A battle is brewing at the Regional Justice Center, but not between lawyers in a courtroom. It's a budget battle within Clark County. The district attorney's office is taking center stage in the fiscal fight.
"We can't protect the citizens of the county with the money that they're giving us or not giving us right now," said Assistant District Attorney Chris Owens.
Owens says his department is being asked to cut 9% or the equivalent of $3 million. With 22 prosecuting attorney vacancies and current district attorneys enduring larger workloads from new courts, Owens has a message for county leaders.
"You asked us for the operational cuts. We did that a year and a half ago. A year ago, you asked for the eight percent. We gave eight point five. Nobody else was doing that. Now, you're asking for nine. We don't have the money to give anymore," he said.
In a memo arguing against more budget cuts, District Attorney David Roger wrote, "My legal obligation to protect the community is jeopardized."
Read the District Attorney's Memo to County Leaders
Larry Brown and his fellow Clark County commissioners will crunch the numbers and vote on a budget.
"I anticipate a very strong case made by the DA," Brown said. "You also have to take into consideration not only in the DA's situation, but in the other departments' presentations. What have they done over the last two or three years? What have they done to build toward that efficiency, toward that nine percent that we're asking for this year?"
County Commissioner Steve Sisolak says Roger makes a compelling case, but Sisolak says so has every other department.
Much like jurors, county leaders will have to weigh all factors before reaching a decision, including whether justice would be delayed or denied.
"We haven't hit the point where we had to dismiss cases, or cases get lost because of these cuts, but we're there. That's why we provided this memorandum," Owens said.
In his memo, Roger argues the courts and the public defender's office received new funding to meet their increased workload, but his office's funding has been reduced.
Some county officials dispute some of the information contained in Roger's memo.
Clark County Manager Don Burnette, meanwhile, said in a statement, "If we are going to get through this period of unprecedented revenue decline, all county departments and agencies must continue to reduce our expenditures in order to operate within our means."
A budget meeting is scheduled April 27th at 6:00 p.m.
