Voters to decide on prosecutor’s position

Janet Morales

Next Tuesday’s election will include the question of making the Randolph County prosecutor a full time position.

Mike Fusselman has served as prosecuting attorney for Randolph County for 20 years. He serves the county with the aid of two assistant prosecutors. As with all prosecutors throughout the state who serve in a part-time capacity, Fusselman must supplement his work with a private practice. This can create conflicts with court scheduling and conflicts of interests can arise.

If he has a client in private practice that must face prosecution, an outside counsel must be found to try the case. This creates an additional cost to the county as well as any fees associated with conflicts. Fusselman works in the area of bankruptcy and debt relief which cuts down in conflict but, he says, it is a narrow field of practice.

The work of prosecutor has changed since he first took office, as well, said Fusselman.

“I used to be at full tilt,” said Fusselman. “We are seeing more complicated cases that are time consuming. With sex crimes, there is a mandatory minimum charge and you have to register sex offenders. In the fight for conviction, there is more involved, more motions, hearings, depositions. A prosecutor throws in their energy full-time. But when you have private practice clients, a balance must be made so you are taking care of them too.”

In order to keep the move what the county commissioners call “cost neutral”, one of the assistant prosecutor positions would be eliminated. Some critics who say the county would be trading an 8-hour person to add a half day to the prosecutor’s schedule, don’t understand the job of prosecuting attorney.

“A prosecutor works 24/7, even if they are only part-time,” said Fusselman. “You have to be available at all hours. I’m salaried so I don’t charge the county attorney hours. And I still have a private practice. They are getting their money’s worth. You can’t quantify it with a conventional eight-hour day.”

The present salary for the part-time prosecutor is $69,488.95, according to County Commissioner Randy Asbury. With benefits, FICA, worker’s compensation, etc. the county pays $84,259.19 for the part-time job. If the position becomes full-time, those figures would be $109,366 and $133,647.94 respectively. The difference in the part-time and full-time jobs is the cost of the assistant prosecutor.

Filing ended Tuesday for the prosecutor’s position with Fusselman being the only candidate to file. This gives the county a little more breathing space in the budget. The county does not pay to house the prosecutor’s office. Fusselman owns the building in which he is located and he no longer charges rent. The bad check fund helps offsets utilities.

Should someone else take office, the county would be required to find housing for that office. Property already owned by the county would be the ideal solution but something suitable is not readily available. The basement of the Moberly Courthouse is currently being investigated but it would require extensive renovation to make it safe.

The county also pays the prosecutor’s office an additional $12,500 annually in what could be termed a “prison fee”.

Fusselman said counties with a prison and a part-time prosecutor must pay the additional fee. He said studies show there is increased crime in counties where there are prisons.

“There is crime inside the facilities,” said Fusselman. “There are crimes involving assaults. There are crimes involving drugs and there are crimes involving weapons. There is a collateral side, too. Families move here and set up homes in the area. The people get out of prison and the crime often continues creating more crime in the community. This creates more work for the prosecutor and law enforcement. So an additional reimbursement to the prosecutor’s office is paid for by the county.”

If the job goes to full-time, the county would no longer be required to pay this $12,500 fee.

If the job goes to full-time, the prosecutor would have more flexibility in cases because he would always be available to the court since no dates would be set aside for private cases.

If the job goes to full-time, cases would be tried by a person with experience who can focus entirely on the county’s work.

A decision on the full-time question will be made by voters Tuesday, April 6.