Salary board restructures district attorney office titles, salaries
A nearly $90,000 savings in budgetary costs for the Fayette County district attorney’s office was readily approved Friday by the county salary board.
In unanimous action by Commissioners Vincent Vicites, Dave Lohr and Angela M. Zimmerlink, Controller Scott Abraham and District Attorney Rich Bower, three position titles were created, and several salaries set to reflect the changes Bower has made.
Bower officially took office on Jan. 4 and immediately replaced several staff members from the former administration.
The once senior assistant district attorney position will now be the first administrative district attorney and the former first assistant district attorney position will be now known as the first trial assistant district attorney.
Bower earlier named Melinda Dellarose as the first administrative assistant and Brent Peck as the first trial assistant.
The approved salary for the administrative position moved from $50,797 to $50,563 while the trial assistant salary decreased from the prior $51,265 to $51,070.
Bower said he will utilize funding through a STOP Violence Against Women grant to defray one-half the salaries of two attorneys that will handle domestic violence and sexual assault cases for the office, decreasing the overall cost to the county budget from $31,297 to $25,447.
Bower has appointed attorneys James Geibig and G.T. George as the Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault assistant district attorneys.
The board additionally agreed to Bower’s request to change the former STOP Violence assistant district attorney title to the Juvenile/Mental Health/Veterans Court assistant district attorney and decrease the salary from $44,830 to $44,362.
Bower has yet to name the attorney that will fill the position.
The panel also took action to abolish the former titles.
Bower additionally requested a position of assistant county detective be created and the salary of chief county detective position be increased as the yet-to-be-named appointee will take on additional duties.
In unanimous action, the board approved the proposals setting the assistant position annual salary at $25,447 and increased the annual salary of the chief position from $33,930 to $35,526.
The assistant salary will be funded through the STOP grant, said Bower.
Former Connellsville Police Chief Jim Capitos was earlier sworn in to fill the assistant county detective position.
While Bower has yet to reveal the new chief, he advised the board that the appointee will have an investigatory role in homicides and other serious crimes along with training municipal law enforcement agencies, and other added duties.
“The duties have been expanded,” said Bower in requesting the salary increase.
All changes were made retroactive to Jan. 4.
In other matters, the board moved to rescind the earlier approval of the board’s October meeting minutes.
Zimmerlink said the request was made after she learned that the respective minutes indicated her attendance at the meeting and that she cast votes in several of the matters. However, she did not attend the meeting.
When questioned if the recension action would negate the measures taken during the meeting by former Commissioners Al Ambrosini and Vince Zapotosky and acting-Controller Sydney Bush, Zimmerlink said that the only changes would be to note her absence and remove her name from any voting action.
The salary board also tabled approving the December meeting minutes until members had an opportunity to review the document and accompanying resolutions.