In a meeting on October 8, 2024, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved funding for new positions in the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, addressing the office’s need for additional resources to handle an increasing caseload. The positions include four new attorney roles: paralegal, victim-witness staff, and administrative staff. Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth emphasized the importance of these positions for the efficiency and effectiveness of the county’s criminal justice system.
The new hires come after Ashworth said she would withhold prosecution of certain misdemeanor charges, effective May 1, 2024, if county leaders don’t give her more employees.
During the meeting, Ashworth explained the need for the positions, noting that the Virginia Compensation Board had allocated funding for four attorney positions at $70,000 each, but that amount fell short of what is needed in Northern Virginia. “Obviously, that doesn’t cover what we pay in Northern Virginia for an attorney,” she said. She also worked with the county’s budget office to creatively allocate the funding, ensuring that critical positions would be filled.
Ashworth explained that while the positions were funded for fiscal year 2025, the full costs of the positions will be felt in FY 2026 due to the timing of when the hires are expected to take place. “They’d be active for maybe six or seven months of the remainder of the fiscal year. But in fiscal ’26, they would presumably be hired and filled, and their salaries and benefits would be paid for the entirety of the fiscal year,” she said.
The new positions come after an updated time study from the Supreme Court of Virginia recommended that the Prince William Commonwealth Attorney’s Office be staffed with 61 attorneys, 30 administrative staff, and 15 paralegals. Ashworth pointed out this was an increase from the previous year’s recommendation and highlighted the office’s struggle with understaffing. “We are operating with approximately half of the administrative staff that the time study recommends and approximately half of the paralegals,” she told the board.
Supervisors acknowledged the importance of providing adequate resources to the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, particularly in light of the increasing demands on the local criminal justice system. Supervisor Bob Weir expressed concern about the funding shortfalls, asking, “Are we on the hook for the delta between the two amounts?” He pointed out that the revenue provided by the Compensation Board did not fully cover the costs associated with the positions.
Supervisor Yesli Vega, who was previously critical of the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, expressed her support for the additional staffing, recognizing the need for more resources. “I do understand that there is a need and that this continues to be an opportunity for myself and the Commonwealth Attorney to work collaboratively to assure that we’re addressing the needs that the office really has,” she said.
One of the most critical roles approved was for a victim-witness staff member, a position Ashworth emphasized as essential to ensuring that victims and witnesses feel safe and supported when coming to court. “There is a lot of reluctance on the part of people to do that, to be involved. People are afraid that there will be retribution,” she said, explaining the importance of the victim-witness role in helping alleviate those fears and ensuring witnesses are kept informed and supported throughout the legal process.
The discussion also highlighted the need for collaboration between local and state governments to ensure that compensation for critical public safety roles is adequate. “We have to make sure that each of these [departments] have adequate resources,” said Supervisor Andrea Bailey. “Quite frankly, we’re going to continue to have these discussions about how the Compensation Board does their part.”
The new positions are set to be fully incorporated into the FY 2026 budget, and discussions are ongoing about how to fund the shortfalls between state-provided compensation and local needs. Ashworth closed the discussion by expressing gratitude for the board’s support and underscoring the importance of providing adequate resources to maintain a functioning and just legal system.
