Attorney shortage, technology upgrades highlight Allegheny County budget hearings

A shortage of attorneys in the District Attorney’s office and out-of-date technology in the Court of Common Pleas were among the issues raised Thursday as Allegheny County Council held a second round of 2020 budget hearings.

“We have to take a hard look at that,” Council member Paul Klein, D-Point Breeze, said of high turnover and low salaries for attorneys in the District Attorney’s office.

It’s an issue, he said, that also impacts attorneys in the county Public Defender’s office.

“Where it is on the priority list is hard to say, countywide, but it’s certainly something that I will say we’re not indifferent to,” Klein said.

The District Attorney’s office is asking for $20.3 million in 2020, which represents a 3.62% increase, or about $700,000, over the 2019 department budget.

Most of that will go towards funding ongoing programs and supporting salary increases, though final figures for salary increases are still being negotiated, said Rebecca Spangler, first assistant to District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr.

Zappala did not attend Thursday evening’s budget hearing.

Attracting and retaining talent has been an ongoing issue for the department: The starting salary for attorneys in the office is about $40,000 per year — about $8,000 a year more than what they were 24 years ago, Spangler told council members.

The District Attorney’s office has about 121 attorneys on staff, but lost seven attorneys since July, Spangler said. The typical turnover rate is about 10 to 12 attorneys per year.

“We’re public servants, we serve the taxpayers,” Spangler said, adding that the department’s attorneys are on call 24 hours per day to assist area police departments.

Many work evenings and weekends to make sure the department’s backlog is minimal, she said.

Common Pleas President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark and Court Administrator Linda Kelly also appeared before council to present an $83.2 million budget for the Court of Common Pleas — a $2.7 million, or 3.36% increase over 2019.

The budget increase will be used in part to start updating technology, including electronic filing for court documents, courtroom presentations, network systems and hardware.

“We have wiring and hardware equipment in place that is old, and it exceeds the industry life cycle for those standards,” Kelly said. “And we’re soon to be in a position right here in this courthouse where the wiring will not be able to support modern equipment and hardware. I’m told our system is living on borrowed time.”

The Common Pleas Court could use about $1.2 million beyond what is budgeted to meet basic technology needs, Clark said.

Common Pleas Court budget increases will also be used to evaluate and upgrade security in several court buildings Downtown and throughout the county, including the family law center and magisterial district courts.

In addition to Klein, who chairs the budget and finance committee, council members Denise Ranalli Russell, D-Brighton Heights; Sue Means, R-Bethel Park; Robert Palmosina, D-Banksville; DeWitt Walton, D-Hill District; Paul Zavarella, D-Plum and Bob Macey, D-West Mifflin, attended the hearing Thursday.

They also heard from representatives from the Sheriff, Controller and Treasurer’s offices.

Controller Chelsa Wagner did not attend Thursday’s hearing. She was on trial in Detroit, related to criminal charges stemming from a March 6 encounter with police and hotel staff.

The proposed 2020 budget for the Controller’s Office is $7.59 million, a 2.7% increase over the 2019 budget.

It is the smallest budget among the offices presented Thursday, followed by the Treasurer’s office, which asked for $7.9 million — a 2.93% increase over 2019.

Sheriff William Mullen presented a $20.7 million budget, which represents a 2.95% increase over 2019.

Mullen noted that the department is satisfied with funding for equipment and training. Hospital detail for inmates from the Allegheny County Jail is one of the biggest cost drivers for the department, running about $500,000 in overtime this year, he said.

The total county budget proposed by Chief Executive Rich Fitzgerald in October, which includes department budgets reviewed this week, comes to about $1 billion and does not include a property tax increase for Allegheny County residents.

County Council held a separate hearing Wednesday to review sections of the operating budget related to county administration, health and human services, public works, facilities management and the health department.

Klein said council is on track to approve the county budget by the Friday, Dec. 6 deadline.