WARREN — The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office is requesting commissioners provide it $850,000 more than it received during the budgeting process late last year.

Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Danso told commissioners during Tuesday’s workshop that his office would not be able to provide its state-mandated responsibilities without the increased funding amount. It was allocated $4.4 million in the 2026 budget

“Our office was essentially underfunded,” Danso said. “I know the commissioners tried to do their best to give every department what they spent last year.”

However, he noted, the budget spent in 2025 is not a representation of what its budget is.

“We had a hard time filling an open position we had in our office for the majority of the year, and we had some software expenses that we were able to put off until the very last month, so essentially it made our budget expenditures look lower last year,” he said. “We were able to return the money to the general fund at the end of the year. It made our numbers that we spent last year look artificially low, essentially.”

In addition, Danso noted the prosecutor’s office brought in some additional funds that the prosecutor’s office was able to obtain through revenue streams available to it.

“This (revenue request) would put our budget to what it needs to be to be able to pay for personnel we will have for the full time,” he said.

Commissioner Denny Malloy defended the process the commissioners took last year in developing the budget.

“We set the budget for our department to what was spent last year,” Malloy said. “We said we would address any department that had shortcomings.”

Malloy said the commissioners already received a letter from Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Randy Law’s office saying it would not be able to work with the budget amount it was given.

“Other department heads have said the same thing,” Malloy said. “Why would we put the prosecutor out in front of every other department?”

Danso argued the prosecutor’s office was cut 20% of its budget request, which to him, is greater than any other department had to endure.

“If the county is in a dire financial situation, the law requires the commissioners to go through and fund each and every mandated service first,” he said. “And not spend any money on any nonmandated service unless and until the mandated services are funded.”

He noted if the county is not under dire financial stress, then there should not have been a funding problem, and the prosecutor’s office should not have been cut by 20%. “If we wait until June, July or August, when the commissioners readjust the budget, if it turns out we are in true financial difficulty, you would have spent six to seven months funding nonmandated services where the money is just gone,” he said.

Malloy argued it is not true that the county did a 20% decrease in the prosecutor’s office budget, because the county provided it with essentially the same budget it received in 2025.

He also said the prosecutor added an employee last year, when other departments — understanding the potential financial situation the county was facing — did not.

Danso suggested the prosecutor’s office added an employee at a time when the county for two consecutive years unanimously agreed to support additional staffing to the public defender’s office and provide it with large pay raises.

Commissioner Rick Hernandez noted that next year, the prosecutor’s office needs to look at the indigent representation and how to fund it.

“Are we going overboard with that service compared to what we should be delegating to the prosecutor’s office?” he said. “There are some disparities there. I don’t know until we meet with the prosecutor’s office to get a better read.”

Danso said they are being outmanned.

“We needed the extra employee,” Danso said. “The plan we presented for this year does not add any additional employees.”

He noted the bulk of the $850,000 request will be used to pay for existing employees.

“If our office is missing $850,000, there is nowhere else to cut other than personnel expenses in our office,” Danso said. “We will continue providing services that our budget allows.”

Malloy said if the commissioners provide the prosecutor all of the money it is requesting right now, then other departments will come to them for increases in their budgets right now.

“Last year, we brought in millions more than what we thought, and we’re on track to do that this year again,” he said. “I think the money will be there.”

Hernandez asked if Prosecutor Dennis Watkins would consider taking half of the $850,000 now being requested.

Danso said he would take the suggested amount back to Watkins for consideration.

“And then we can, at least, keep things moving for the prosecutor’s office,” Hernandez said. “We can look at it about three months down the road.”

Commissioner Tony Bernard said the county should do what is needed to fund the prosecutor’s and the sheriff’s offices.