Original Article Experienced prosecutors to get raises from county Sherry Anne Rubiano The Arizona Republic Aug. 11, 2005 12:00 AM PHOENIX - The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved about $4.5 million in pay raises to hundreds of county attorneys, a move designed to keep experienced prosecutors working for the county. The compensation package will be given to more than 300 attorneys, primarily prosecutors. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas said the pay raises will help prevent turnover of experienced attorneys, which will help ensure public safety and effective crime control. "When relatively inexperienced prosecutors routinely square off against more experienced criminal defense attorneys in court, justice inevitably will suffer," Thomas said. "And that's the bottom line." Wednesday's unanimous vote came months after Thomas had asked supervisors for an additional $6.3 million to help reduce turnover of experienced prosecutors. Thomas said most major crimes - rapes, robberies and child-abuse cases - are being handled by prosecutors who have only a few years of experience. More than 70 percent of all county prosecutors have five years of experience or less. The most recent figures show the office experienced about a 20 percent turnover last year. According to a February report to supervisors, the main reason for the turnover was pay: County prosecutors were making less compared to attorneys at other county offices and private law firms. Because of this difference, the office lost some attorneys who sought higher salaries at the Pinal County Attorney's Office, the report found. Thomas, who took office in January, said they have made other changes to combat turnovers and make the office a more appealing place to work. He authorized post-retirement retention to keep experienced prosecutors. He also brought in outside attorneys at higher salaries by hiring them as "exempt" employees. Thomas said there will be an ongoing review process in the coming months to see how the turnover rate has been affected and to compare salaries in other prosecutors' offices. "Obviously, I would have felt better if we had received all we had requested," Thomas said. "This is a substantial step in the right direction."