MARSHALL — Staff at the Lyon County Attorney’s Office have always worked long hours, County Attorney Abby Wikelius said. However, the office has been down one attorney since this spring, and that wasn’t sustainable, Wikelius told Lyon County Commissioners this week.

On Tuesday, commissioners heard a request to raise the salaries of the two current assistant county attorneys.

“As many of you are aware, the state of Minnesota is experiencing a shortage of county attorneys. Our county attorney’s office is currently operating short-staffed,” Wikelius said. In addition to Wikelius, the office currently has two assistant county attorneys, and one vacant assistant attorney position.

“We’ve had an ad posted since the beginning of April and have had zero applications so far,” Wikelius said.

Lyon County Administrator Loren Stomberg and Human Resources Director Tegan Lindsley presented a request to raise Assistant County Attorney Carlotta Navarette and Assistant County Attorney Julianna Passe’s salaries to $125,000 a year, effective July 1. Stomberg said the county could risk losing more attorneys if they weren’t offering competitive salaries.

“This is an exception to our past practice and policy,” Stomberg said. “We have a chronic shortage of applicants in general, but this one is pretty acute, where you only have four attorneys in that office, and you’re down one.”

Stomberg said he and Lindsley didn’t take the salary request lightly in bringing it to the county board. “I do think it’s the right thing to do in this circumstance,” he said.

At the same time that Minnesota was seeing a shortage of county attorneys, caseloads were growing, Wikelius said. The increase was due to a mix of factors, she said. There had been changes in state policy where fewer people were going to prison, and people weren’t imprisoned as long as in the past.

“People are given more chances on probation, which at some point creates more work,” Wikelius said.

She said the number of child protection cases in Lyon County was also higher than in years past, and those cases were becoming more complicated, with more children and parents involved.

“I think it’s got to be noted that the shortage is because of the state,” said Commissioner Rick Anderson. “It’s not our fault, it’s the state’s fault.”

“It’s not just the state. It’s getting people to come to greater Minnesota,” Wikelius said. She said the area Public Defender’s Office paid attorneys more than the County Attorney’s Office did, but was still struggling to find new applicants.

“There’s a shortage of attorneys statewide, currently, in Minnesota. It’s vastly different than what it was a decade ago,” Wikelius said.

Other Minnesota counties are also facing problems with a lack of county attorneys, she said. Some counties have addressed the problem by contracting out for county attorney services. However, if there aren’t enough attorneys to contract out to, it could lead to criminal cases backing up or being filed more slowly.

“Ultimately, it’s not in the best interests of the public, or of public safety,” Wikelius said.

“I think this is in the county’s best interests,” Commissioner Todd Draper said of the requested salary increases. If the county lost any more attorneys, or had to contract for services, the consequences could be costly in the long run, he said.

In two separate motions, commissioners voted to approve salary increases for both Navarrette and Passe.