County OKs new positions

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2003 | 8:49 a.m.

The Clark County Commission approved new positions for the District Attorney's office and Justice Court and reassigned now-vacant positions to the Family Services Department and Public Defender's office Tuesday.

Seven "family support specialists" will ease a growing workload within the family support unit at the District Attorney's office, County Manager Thom Reilly told the board. Two-thirds of the $422,000 annual cost will be covered by federal grants, he said.

Reilly also said the county will reassign 13 vacant positions to the Public Defender and Family Services Department. The county, facing a cash crunch, continues to look for ways to shift staffing from low priority to high priority areas, he said.

Both offices have been hit with additional needs. Studies of the Public Defender's office have found a manpower shortage, especially in juvenile defense.

Reilly said four new positions at the Clark County Justice Court will go toward trimming long lines where people pay traffic fines. The wait to pay a ticket can be more than two hours. The cost for the new positions is about $242,000.