COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Prosecutor Ralph Kimble says his office is seriously understaffed and it’s happening when the caseload has nearly tripled over the last 2-and-a-half years. According to Kimble, the situation developed following cuts in office staffing during the previous Prosecutor’s term which ended in December 2012.
The issue has been amplified with the current request made to Kimble from an administrative assistant for personal leave time. There’s been no shortage of potential cases for the Prosecutor considering the inmate overflow problem at the Branch County jail which had four prisoner overcrowding emergencies declared last year and already two more this year.
Kimble has asked county commissioners to approve the addition of a contract employee position of administrative assistant for his office for a term of up to 3 months, for 40 hours a week at the rate of $12 an hour. The county board is expected to take up the matter today at the Commission’s work meeting.
