DETROIT LAKES — Afraid of opening a door that might be difficult to close, the Becker County Board on Tuesday tabled a request for retention pay bonuses for two assistant county attorneys.
The Becker County Attorney’s Office, which prosecutes criminal cases, among other duties, has been hard hit by the loss of half its staff — three experienced attorneys, all of whom joined a new state public defender’s office that has been set up in Detroit Lakes.
Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald strongly argued for the retention bonuses, which he said are needed to stop the staff hemorrhaging caused when the state last year corrected a longtime underpayment of public defenders by jacking up their salaries , to the point where they are now paid substantially more than assistant county attorneys.
In a memo to commissioners, he said “to recognize the increased stress/strain on these two assistant attorneys (Holly Danielson and Jessica Johnsrud) and to recognize their loyal service to the county during this unprecedented attorney shortage, I am asking the county to authorize a form of retention pay/bonus, not to exceed $6,500 each for each employee.”
He proposed a $3,000 bonus for each of the assistant attorneys if still employed on July 1, and an additional $3,500 if employed on Dec. 15. “However, I am open to discussion about any form of bonus/retention pay or structure that recognizes the additional strain placed on my staff,” McDonald wrote. The request applies to the two attorneys who were on staff as of Jan. 1.
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“In November 2023, I came before the Board of Commissioners and informed you that one of my assistant attorneys, Deven Nice, was resigning from the County Attorney's office for a position with the State Public Defender's Office. Mr. Nice addressed the Board at that time and advised the Board that the sole reason he was leaving was for increased compensation. I also advised the Board that at least two (2) of my assistant attorneys were in discussions with the Public Defender's Office regarding possible positions within their office. I noted they were likely to leave unless the county was able to figure out some increased compensation.
“Fast forward to February 2024 ... Becker County watched as two experienced prosecutors (Braden Sczepanski and Lisa Tufts) resigned their positions in the County Attorney's Office for positions with the State Public Defender's Office. This was without any response or increase in pay from the county. In other words, we watched as 20 years of legal experience walked out the door. This left the Becker County Attorney's Office with not only substantially less experience, but with the lowest number of staffed attorneys (total of 3) since the early 2000s.
“To highlight the complexity of this matter, the county then spent $12,000 a few weeks later on a recruitment firm, understanding and recognizing that the applicant pool to fill these positions was not adequate.
“Since Braden and Lisa's departures, the two remaining experienced assistants have inherited a substantially increased workload in the form of reviewing more files, attending more hearings, and meeting with more crime victims.”
The two have also been a great help in training a new assistant county attorney, Lilly Harper, who joined the office in mid-March, he added.
In talking to commissioners on Tuesday, McDonald noted that the Clay County Board just approved retention bonuses for their assistant county attorneys, even though that office had not “lost half its staff,” he said.
Clay County was able to take that action because those assistant county attorneys are unionized — they belong to a bargaining unit, and the retention incentives were done through a memorandum of agreement as a part of their union negotiations, noted Carrie Smith, the Becker County Human resources director and interim county administrator.
Becker County assistant attorneys are not unionized, and they are classified as exempt employees, so they are not eligible for overtime.
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Commissioners were sympathetic to McDonald’s request, and several clearly wanted to help.
“This is a unique situation,” said Commissioner David Meyer. “The public defender’s office opened in Detroit Lakes and basically took three of our (assistant county) attorneys. This recognizes they are doing twice the work they were before, and will continue to do so because they will also be training new attorneys. It’s not a precedent-setting thing because it will probably never happen again.”
But other county departments have also been losing seasoned employees, are facing staff shortages, and would love to be able to offer retention bonuses — so commissioners essentially need to be able to justify giving special treatment to the county attorney's office, said Commissioner Barry Nelson. He asked McDonald to document caseload changes and other specifics and bring that info back to the board.
“We need to have the justification, we need to have some rationale specific to this job,” and then the board can support the request, he said. “This is a special case.”
Commissioner Richard Vareberg also expressed concern for setting a precedent for other departments, but added “I don’t have a problem paying people for extra work, Brian. People should be paid for extra work.”
Commissioner John Okeson said he was also concerned about setting a precedent for other departments.
Commissioner Erica Jepson said that “the difference is that other departments are getting overtime for extra work — attorneys are an exempt position.”
McDonald was concerned about adding documentation requirements to an already swamped staff, and argued that the fact that his office has only three of seven assistant county attorney positions filled should be justification enough.
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“This is an unprecedented request for unprecedented times,” he said.
In his memo, he noted that “Becker County is saving thousands of dollars per month due to the vacant positions in the County Attorney's Office. By my cursory estimate, the monthly savings approach $20,000 … the cost of this proposed pay/bonus would be easily absorbed in my budget by attorney positions that sit vacant.”
While the board tabled that request, pending information on caseloads and other data from McDonald, it did unanimously approve hiring a paid intern for the summer. University of North Dakota law student Lily Crume worked as an unpaid intern at the Becker County Attorney’s Office last summer, and will receive $21 an hour, up to a total of $7,000, for her work this summer.
As a licensed student attorney, “she can handle and litigate all sorts of things that our office handles,’ McDonald said in a memo to the board. “This assists with a short-term need for the County Attorney’s office.”
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