HomeMy WebLinkAboutFY 2022 Budget Presentation (Office of the County Attorney)OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY
FY 2022 BUDGET AND OPERATIONS SYNOPSIS
Matthew M. Bracken
County Attorney
Department: COUNTY ATTORNEY
Fund: GENERAL FUND
1. FY 2021 to FY 2022 BUDGET COMPARSION
FY 2021
FY 2022
$ + / -
% + / -
Salary and Wages
1,654,513
1,830,973
176,460
10.7%
Benefits
943,857
1,045,251
101,394
10.7%
Utilities
4,035
4,035
0
0.0%
Vehicle/Equip, Lease
0
0
0
0.0%
Operations
714,787
544,617
-170,170
-23.8%
3,317,192
3,424,876
107,684
3.2%
FY 2021 Operating Budget
FY 2022 Operating Budget
■ Salary and Wages
■ Salary and Wages
0%
2296 ■Benefits
0% v
� ■Benefits
0V 5
Utilities
■ Utilities
■ Vehicle/Equip,
■ Vehicle/Equip,
Lease
Lease
Operations
■ Operations
FY 2021 and FY 2022 Comparison
2,000,000
1,800, 000
1,600, 000
1,400, 000
1,200, 000
1,000, 000
800,000
600,000
400,000
200,000
0
Salary and Wages
Benefits Utilities Vehicle/Equip, Operations
Lease
0 FY 2021
0 FY 2022
1
2. MAJOR CHANGES AND/OR VARIANCES IN OPERATIONS BUDGET
We have managed to fill all attorney and staff vacancies in our office. This allows us to decrease reliance
on outside special legal counsel. Accordingly, the major decrease in our operational budget is a reduction
in this line item.
In 2020, we hired a part-time attorney who will be working additional hours in the next fiscal year. We
have been pleased with the amount of work produced and the ability to focus on specific projects.
Based on our initial experience, we requested an additional part-time attorney position. During our most
recent hiring process we discovered there is quite a demand for part-time work. We are confident that
we can fill this position quickly, as we already have a pool of interested applicants.
3. OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES
Attorney retention has always been an operational challenge. Training new attorneys are time consuming.
It also takes a year or two for an attorney to familiarize themselves with municipal law and the County.
We are currently allowing remote working and modified work hours. Our goal is to offer an un-comparable
work environment to hopefully increase retention. Salary and workload will likely continue to affect
retention.
4. TOP 3 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM FY 2021
• Contract automation is in its final stages before beta testing. The contract automation interface will
allow our clients to answer simple non -legalese questions, which will then populate and build custom
contracts. It should reduce the time our clients spend preparing contracts and reduce attorney review
time and speed up the contracting and review process altogether.
• We have filled all attorney and staff vacancies. Attorney turnaround times are improving as we work
to decrease the backlog of legal requests.
• Completing attorney pre -approved grant award templates for Office of the Mayor and Office of
Economic Development, along with general provisions for County grants. Updating the County's
minimum insurance requirements and related solicitation documents to ensure the County is properly
protected.
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