How will Stanislaus County stop the revolving door at district attorney’s office?

Stanislaus County will try hiring and pay incentives to reduce turnover in the District Attorney’s office.

The office has struggled to recruit and keep prosecutors in the past seven years, and the high turnover rate surfaced as an issue in the November 2018 election.

Since 2012, turnover among deputy district attorneys has averaged 20 percent and was 25 percent in the 2018-19 fiscal year, a recent staff report said. A committee made up of administrators from the district attorney and county chief executive offices started looking at the turnover and possible solutions in March.

District Attorney Birgit Fladager, elected to another term last year, did not respond to requests for comment on the pay incentives.

Last week, the Board of Supervisors approved new pay items including 5 percent “certificate pay” for qualifying attorneys. Employees in county departments typically receive this extra pay for specialized skills, training or education.

Attorneys in the DA’s office, Public Defender’s office and child support services will receive 5 percent of base salary for completing 16 credits of continuing education in subject areas such as bankruptcy, ethics, family law, felony sentencing or jury selection.

The DA’s office is already paying an extra 2.5 percent for staff members who counsel and coach other attorneys. In addition, deferred compensation of 2 percent will be added to attorneys’ base salary.

The county is on continuous recruitment and holding monthly interviews to fill nine vacancies for deputy district attorneys in the DA’s office. As of mid-August, the department had 48 deputy DA positions and 39 were filled.

To encourage recruitment of new hires, staff can now earn a $1,000 bonus for referring a job candidate who’s hired and passes the probationary period.

The county will also cover $2,500 in moving expenses for attorneys who relocate to Stanislaus County.

A three-year contract negotiated between the county and the County Attorneys Association gave unionized staff members a 4 percent raise in July 2018, followed by another 4 percent in July. An additional 3 percent raise is scheduled to go into effect in July 2020.

Tamara Thomas, county human resources director, said turnover in the district attorney’s office has been about double the rate reported in all county departments. She cited the historic pay disparities for professional staff between the Bay Area and Central Valley but the differences in salaries between Stanislaus and comparable counties were not that significant.

It’s fairly easy for attorneys to accept job offers down the road in San Joaquin County or the Attorney General’s office, Thomas noted.

Counties and other agencies are looking for new attorneys at a time when fewer are taking and passing the California Bar Examination, Thomas said.

“We have been working on this for a number of months and hope we will be able to encourage people to stay longer,” Thomas said.

The pay items for continuing education for attorneys are expected to cost $450,420 spread across the district attorney, child support services and public defender offices. Reallocating deferred compensation to base salaries will cost about $225,000.

This story was originally published August 26, 2019 at 5:33 PM.