Commission Gives District Attorney Crisis Funding

Posted on: Mar 12th, 2009 | News and Announcements

Mobile County District Attorney John Tyson today said that a funding cut of $35,000 a month by the state of Alabama will compromise the operations of his office unless he can get immediate help from the Mobile County Commission. At a regular meeting of the Mobile County Commissioners, Tyson asked the commission to take action on his request to cover the total shortfall of $245,000 that the state had cut from his budget. He said he hoped to get some stimulus money from the federal government to cover the shortfall, but that the money wouldn?t be available until June or July. Commissioner Merceria Ludgood made a motion to give the prosecutor?s office $105,000, the equivalent of three months of the shortfall. The motion passed unanimously. ?This is something we had to do because it was a crisis situation,? said Commission president Mike Dean. ?We can?t let our judicial system fail us.? Tyson said without the emergency funds he would have had to cut at least 10 staff members. ###