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State Attorney Fights Judiciary Cuts

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By WILLIAM MARCH

wmarch@tampatrib.com

Published: April 2, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober was in the state Capitol on Wednesday making a plea for money in a place where it's in short supply.

State budget cuts have created a threat to public safety by leaving prosecutors' offices underfunded, Ober said.

He is worried about Gov. Charlie Crist's decision to hold back 15 percent of state agencies' budgets for the three months ending in June.

Crist announced that holdback two weeks ago. He said it was a precaution in case state revenue for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in June, falls short of predictions.

But Ober described it a different way. "As we have clung to the cliff by our fingernails, this 15 percent cut is the boot stomping on our hands," he said in a letter last week to Crist and legislative leaders.

Ober wrote the letter on behalf of Florida's 20 state attorneys, as president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association.

Accompanied by top staff, he walked the halls of the Capitol Wednesday talking to legislators about what he said was the effect of the cuts:

•His office has 64 vacant positions in a normal complement of 351 prosecutors, investigators and support staff.

•Caseloads have reached about 500 each in the misdemeanor section and 250 to 350 in the felony section - roughly twice what Ober said national district attorneys' associations recommend.

•The holdback cost his office $703,000 out of an annual budget of about $21 million.

•Pay for employees has been frozen for three years except for promotions.

Ober said prosecutors have become the bottleneck in the flow of cases in the criminal justice system.

But in the same Capitol hallways were schoolchildren carrying signs saying, "No more cuts to education," displays pleading with lawmakers not to cut money for abused children, and advocates for health care and the disabled.

Meanwhile, legislators are looking at a massive budget deficit and political pressure not to raise taxes.

Asked about the other worthy causes, Ober pointed to his letter, which called public safety "the highest duty and obligation of our government."

Crist said he agreed that public safety is one of government's highest duties and likely would be first in line to have the holdback money restored.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski contributed to this report. Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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