The Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney’s office presented its 2026 budget priorities to the Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 29, asking for protection of attorney positions, county assumption of high interpreter costs and capital funds for software that prosecutors say are necessary to manage digital discovery.

The prosecutor’s office reported it is authorized for 73 attorney FTEs and currently has 68 filled. On the criminal side, the office said it has 53 attorney FTEs total (including managers) and that about 27 attorneys handle felony prosecutions. The office reported roughly 3,900 superior‑court filings in 2024 and described large district‑court caseload numbers as well. The office said vacancies and technology constraints have strained its ability to manage discovery, prepare cases and meet court obligations.

Key budget pressures identified:

- Interpreter fees: The office budgeted about $270,000 for interpreter services in 2025 and was at approximately $233,000 as of Sept. 17. Prosecutor leadership told commissioners interpreters are required for victims and defendants and that the county presently bills those costs to the prosecutor’s budget. The prosecutor proposed treating interpreter fees as a countywide access‑to‑justice cost rather than an obligation borne by the prosecutor’s office.

- Digital discovery and storage (Axon): Prosecutor staff described recurring discovery problems with video, audio and body‑camera files across multiple agencies and said Axon Justice (an add‑on) would address audit trails, access and sharing. The quoted recurring cost for Axon Justice implementation and subscription was about $87,000 per year; the office said it planned to leave one vacant attorney position unfilled if necessary to fund that technology.

- Case management and county‑wide IT: The office described its in‑house case system (Caseman/Carpel) as aging and said off‑the‑shelf alternatives used by other Washington counties would cost roughly $186,000 per year in subscription fees but could reduce ongoing internal IT maintenance and create efficiencies. County IT warned that rewriting the in‑house system would take years and that third‑party systems can be more sustainable.

Operational impacts and staffing: Prosecutor leadership said a typical felony prosecutor currently handles a heavy load and that reducing authorized positions would increase continuances, delay case resolution and potentially increase jail time and court costs. The office listed five current attorney vacancies and said some of those vacancies are being held to fund technology purchases or to meet budget reduction targets.

Commissioners and office leadership discussed moving interpreter fees off the prosecutor budget, funding technology upgrades as capital items and the tradeoffs of leaving attorney positions vacant to cover recurring IT subscriptions. The board did not adopt final budget actions at the workshop; the prosecutor suggested that without county help on these costs the office would need to consider deeper personnel reductions.

Ending: Prosecutor staff were directed to continue work with budget and IT staff on specific cost estimates for Axon and a replacement case management system and to return with options; commissioners asked staff to explore moving interpreter fees to a countywide line for access to justice.