No deal between County and striking attorneys

The attorney association said there’s no deal with the county, but they’re going back to work anyway. The county’s offer was not what they expected.

Twyla Johnson, I.C. Deputy District Attorney Association, said, “We find out that actually they’re not going to give us any of that stuff unless Mr. Otero eliminates three attorney positions.”

She said they’re worse off than before.

“We’ve been saying that we’re short-staffed for months and they say they’ll help us if we get rid of half of our open positions. This is not good faith. We’ve lost all faith that the county is anything but vindictive at this point,” Johnson said.

With negotiations failing, the attorneys are looking at other options.

“There are numerous legal remedies available to us and I think that’s the route that we’re going to have to take,” Johnson said.

In the meantime, the county and District Attorney’s Office made an agreement which created a new attorney position with higher pay.

District Supervisor Ryan Kelley said, “They will all take on added responsibilities, but with that they will also be compensated. They are giving the district attorney the ability to make the determination of who is qualified to move into those positions.”

That agreement comes at a cost of eliminating two positions: a legal clerk and one attorney.

District Attorney Gilbert Otero said the agreement was not ideal, but necessary.

“What I’ve done doesn’t help me get new hires, because our salary’s low,” Otero said.

The negotiations between the county and attorney association and that between county and District Attorney’s Office are two separate negotiations going on at the same time. Both are in response to the attorney’s complaints.