Prosecutors could get big pay raise in Missouri

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- County prosecutors in the state may get a big raise, and there isn't anything county officials can do about it.

An email from the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services says a pay increase becomes effective July 1, Mississippi County Clerk Junior DeLay said during a County Commission meeting last week.

State statutes set the pay for full-time prosecuting attorneys at the same amount as associate circuit judges. Pending a signature by Gov. Jay Nixon, the annual salary for those positions in Mississippi County will go from $116,000 a year to $133,716.

It also will go into effect in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, but not in Bollinger or Perry counties, which have only part-time county prosecutors, said Jason Lamb, executive director of the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services.

The pay for associate circuit judges is indexed by law to 73 percent of the salary for a federal magistrate judge which, in turn, is set based on a percentage of a district court judge's pay.

While a pay increase usually doesn't become effective during a term, Missouri law provides for a raise during a term under these circumstances, according to the letter.

The letter also advises the raise cannot be withheld by the County Commission nor refused by the prosecutor.

The increase comes as a result of a recent court case in which six federal judges sued the federal government for back pay owed from cost-of-living increases, DeLay said.

Having noted the lawsuit when it was pending, "we did budget for possible salary increase," he said. "We placed it in another part of the budget. ... So we will transfer that amount."

DeLay said he will prepare a budget amendment to account for the transfer.

Southeast Missourian reporter Ruth Campbell contributed to this story.