Bedford budget cuts DA staff

BEDFORD - The 2010 Bedford County budget of nearly $14.9 million is up for public review this week, and at least one county elected official is up in arms.

District Attorney Bill Higgins learned this week that one of his two assistants would be cut as part of the county's budget, which is up by about $400,000 from last year.

"I'll tell you right now, it's not going to happen," Higgins said. "I'm going to hold them to the law. The bottom line is that you cannot cut staff in any office without the salary board doing so. I'm going to hold them to that."

The commissioners are all out of the office this week and could not be reached for comment.

The District Attorney's Office allocation was trimmed from $322,124 last year to $312,882 this year.

In a budget hearing with two of the commissioners last month, Higgins was not told of any possible staff cuts.

"I'm comfortable with the budget number set," Higgins said. "I've been under budget every year since I've been district attorney. They can set the number, but I determine how my office is run."

The budget's projected expenditures for 2009, however, the office will be over budget by $3,346.

Higgins said commissioners Mike Herline, Steve Howsare and Gary Ebersole were looking at his office for cuts because of the loss of funding for the office from the state budget.

"I respect that, but that also doesn't take into consideration that the money now is coming through," he said of a new bill passed that will bring about $19,000 to each county's district attorney's office. The state previously funded 65 percent of the district attorney's salary, or almost $90,000 a year for Bedford County.

"We just can't do it," Higgins said of the staff cut. "County commissioners have an obligation under law to make sure the DA's office is properly funded. I will concede that $312,000 properly funds my office. They set the number, I look at that number, I determine how to use that number. I'm proud of the way we run that office and the record of success we have. I have two of the best assistants I could ask for."

The budget is on display at the county commissioners' office on the third floor of the courthouse at Penn and Juliana streets. Commissioners will vote to adopt it by the end of the month.

Mirror Staff Writer Wendy McCardle Zook is at 946-7520.