COUNTY ATTORNEY ASKS FOR HIGHER WAGES FOF DEPUTY ATTORNEYS
 | Author:
Nancy Marks, Reporter
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
COUNTY ATTORNEY ASKS FOR HIGHER WAGES FOF DEPUTY ATTORNEYS
Nancy Marks
Reporter
At the regular June 7 County Commissioner meeting Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson suggested to the commissioners that the county needs to offer higher pay to compete in the market for deputy county attorneys.
In a memorandum to the commissioners, Swanson said the purpose of his recommendation is “to recruit and retain qualified attorneys to provide competent legal representation for the county.”
He said the current wage offering for the position is not competitive to hire a new deputy county attorney or to retain the current one.
Swanson’s memo pointed out that the county has advertised for a deputy county attorney since last October with a salary range of $70,000-$72,000 and has received zero applications. Additionally, he said the current deputy attorney, Jania Hatfield, with over seven years of experience, makes $72,800, but could easily make $20,000 more a year in the Helena market.
The May 9 memo asks the commissioners to approve a “market wage adjustment” for the deputy county attorney positions.
He asked for a salary range of $74,000 to $80,500 for a deputy with zero to four years experience. The total annual cost to the county with benefits would be $87,000 to $95,000. He recommended a salary range of $85,000 to $93,500 for a deputy with over 5 years of experience. Total cost to the county would be $100,000 to $110,500. He, along with County Financial Officer Debbie Kelly detailed avenues for the county to pay the additional monies.
No action was taken by the commissioners in the process of developing their county budget for next year.
In an email to Mt 43 News, Swanson pointed out that his office’s caseload had continued to grow due to the larger numbers of arrests made by the Broadwater County Sheriff’s office as a result of the growth pressure in the county. “ In 2022 this office filed 32 felony cases. In 2023 we have already filed 30 felony cases so far,” he said.
He said,” I will be doing both criminal and civil caseload and supervision. I need (also) to be more involved with the County Commission and our civil workload.”
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks
Image 1 Caption: Cory Swanson
