HOWARD COUNTY, Ind. — The Howard County Council has approved funding for additional positions at the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office— three additional part-time deputy prosecutors, one full-time investigator and one criminal enforcement clerk.
The Howard County Council voted unanimously on June 24 to add positions in response to a request from Howard County Prosecutor Mark McCann.
The council’s decision follows a WRTV Investigation that revealed the state’s attorney shortage has impacted the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office.
McCann’s office has 11 attorneys serving a population of more than 83,000, but the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council (IPAC) says Howard County should have 23 attorneys to be adequately staffed for its workload.
“It has impacted our ability to prosecute cases in a timely and efficient manner,” said McCann. “The real impact has been on our efficiency to the point where some of the miscellaneous items are not getting the attention they deserve in a timely manner.”
McCann said Howard County employs 23 public defenders, each with mandatory caseload limits, while the prosecutor’s office has no such limits on caseloads.
“I didn’t realize that until actually WRTV, Kara Kenney, wanted to interview me,” McCann told the Howard County Council. “I started digging into this. I was shocked about 23 public defenders and limited caseloads.”
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Howard County may still be able to add even more positions next year.
“Just to note that is for this year,” said council member Bryan Alexander.
“This doesn’t have anything to do with the 2026 budget.”
In Howard County, prosecutors dismissed charges in the 2006 murder case of Chad Rouse, citing a “staffing crisis.”
It was later re-filed.
“It was a big storm, all at once,” McCann told the council. “All the deputies were dedicating their attention to certain cases.”
House Bill 1006 aimed to address the state’s attorney shortage by creating a public prosecution fund, which would allow counties to get reimbursed up to 50% for salary and benefits paid to deputy prosecutors.
However, lawmakers removed funding from the bill.
