MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Ward County State’s Attorney Rozanna Larson is seeking more than half a million dollars in state aid to fund more staff as her office grapples with a mounting workload.
Staff members are suspending vacations and putting in long hours to handle a growing number of cases in the county on the edge of the bustling oil patch, she said.
“It’s just coming in fast and furious,” Larson said.
Two attorneys in the office are resigning, citing stress - including one who has six weeks of unused vacation. Larson’s office already has had to fill six vacancies due to turnover since 2013, along with four support staff positions.
Larson wants to reduce individual attorneys’ workloads and create a better working environment.
“They can’t have status quo anymore. They simply cannot,” she told the County Commission this week.
Commissioners approved her request to the state for about $525,000 in oil impact money - grants given to counties to help them deal with the effects of energy development, the Minot Daily News reported (https://bit.ly/1F5yFyq ). The county would chip in about $60,000.
The money would fund another legal office assistant, a legal administration assistant, a victim-witness coordinator and an assistant state’s attorney, along with the necessary office furnishings and equipment. If a grant is received, the positions would be added in July.
“We just want something that’s manageable,” Larson said.
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