By By JOHN EBY / Dowagiac Daily News
CASSOPOLIS - A "disappointed" Prosecutor Victor Fitz went down swinging Thursday going to bat for an employee targeted for layoff in his office.
Fitz said he voluntarily returned $92,081 by saving $46,240 of his budget in 2004 and $45,841 of his budget in 2003 despite steep increases in violent crimes.
An anticipated $10,000 to $20,000 left a few weeks from now would push his savings over $100,000.
Cass County averaged 578 felonies authorized per year during 1999-2004 (594, 1999; 619, 2000; 602, 2001; 580, 2002; 539, 2003; and 536, 2004).
Authorizations are already at 517 in 2005, which projects to 775 felonies by year's end - an anticipated jump in the number of felonies authorized by almost a third, to 32.3 percent.
Sheriff Joseph Underwood has reported jail overcrowding to Judges Michael Dodge and Paul Deats.
Dodge has 14 days to review and to devise a plan on how to release prisoners to alleviate the bulge.
Fitz urged commissioners to spare the position and instead tell him, " 'This is how much we need to be cut from your budget. You tell us where to take the money. We'll let you make the decisions on the details' … Issues we're dealing with are life-and-death, flesh-and-blood. I just got done with an armed robbery jury trial from The Cottage where two people in our community were shot and could have been killed. We've saved approximately $100,000 in the county budget in three years that we didn't go on a flurry and try to spend it at the end. We turned it back so you could use it … Please let me keep my people. That's what I need to do my job and protect the people of this county."
Fitz has a dozen employees in his office, including five attorneys and seven support staff. Nine are funded by the county budget.
Fitz reported to the Board of Commissioners Sept. 15 that the average number of misdemeanor counts authorized over the past six years has been 1,308, with this year's total projected at 1,228.
One way to monitor how quickly felony cases are being processed through a court is by reviewing the number of cases pending at the end of the year. By that yardstick, "The Cass County Prosecutor's Office made great progress in closing cases expeditiously in 2004," Fitz said. "By the end of that year there were only 56 felony cases pending, compared to a previous five-year average of 193 (according to the Michigan State Court Administrator's Office, 172 in 1999, 202 in 2001, 237 in 2001, 152 in 2002, 201 in 2003 and 56 in 2004).
Drug cases authorized included 90 in 2000, 110 in 2001, 102 in 2002, 120 in 2003, 118 in 2004 and 157 so far in 2005 - a pace which would conclude the year with 222.
During his 2 1/2 years as prosecutor, Fitz's office has a 92-percent jury trial verdict conviction rate - "one of the best in the state."
Proctor told commissioners, "In regard to the prosecutor's request to avoid the reduction of personnel in his office that has been recommended, that needs to be addressed today. If you as a board want to change this budget proposal and eliminate the reduction of personnel in the prosecutor's office that was recommended (as part of nine positions across seven departments), you need to be very careful before you do that.