By Fred Pace
The Register-Herald
FAYETTEVILLE
March 18, 2008 05:51 pm
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Fayette County Prosecuting Attorney Carl Harris told county commissioners his office is being overwhelmed by child abuse and neglect cases, as well as crimes related to illegal drugs.
“We have had to move all the child abuse and neglect cases to a specialized area because of the overwhelming amount of them we have to deal with,” Harris said during the March 7 regular meeting of the Fayette County Commission. “The other thing is that we are seeing more crime.”
Harris said illegal drug use, and crimes related to it, are rising at an alarming rate.
“Regardless if anyone wants to face it or not, drug cases account for the biggest part of our docket,” he said.
Harris said he has been told the answer is to make better plea deals with those accused of illegal drug crimes.
“This is what I’m not prone to do,” he said. “Therefore, we prosecute probably more of these types of crimes than other counties our size.”
Commissioner Matthew Wender said the current illegal drug culture probably contributes to the child abuse and neglect problems. He said it has also dramatically driven up regional jail costs for the county.
“That’s just another thing that is beyond our ability to control,” he said.
Commissioner John Lopez said it’s sad to hear of arrests, almost daily, that are attributed to illegal drugs.
“Every day you read the newspaper someone is being arrested for illegal drug use, illegal drug production, stealing and embezzling for money to purchase illegal drugs and so many other examples,” he said.
Commission president Kenneth Eskew agreed with his fellow commissioners.
“It appears illegal drug crimes are not only a problem for Fayette County or West Virginia, it’s a nationwide epidemic,” he said.
Harris says taxpayers are paying for both sides of the case.
“They pay for us to prosecute these cases and they’re paying for someone to come in and defend those charged with illegal drug crimes,” he said. “When you start adding up the costs on both sides, it is probably much more than the average taxpayer would ever imagine.”
Harris revealed these disturbing trends during the county’s annual budget process in which commissioners hear funding requests from various county officeholders and agencies.
“We are also having retention issues,” he said.
According to Harris, many of his employees are able to find much higher-paying jobs in the private sector after they have been trained and gain some experience.
“We must try to get the salaries up so we can retain some of these employees,” he said.
Harris requested an increase of $10,000 for salaries in his office.
Commissioners also heard budget requests from the circuit clerk, county clerk, assessor, New River Humane Society, Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Building, county park and the county’s West Virginia University Extension office.
The county is working on its 2008-09 budget. Last year, the county approved an $8,461,963 general fund budget. It is expected to increase slightly this year due to increases in insurance costs, taxes and salaries.
The next regular meeting of the commission is scheduled for March 21.
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