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Transfer portion of District Attorney Media Coordinator Position to the General Fund.
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Recommended Action: Approve requested transfer.
The District Attorney's Office is requesting to shift 0.49 of a 1.0 FTE Media Coordinator position (#20001991) from the Consumer Investigations fund center in the District Attorney Grant Fund into its Consumer Fraud fund center in the General Fund, effective January 1, 2016. The Consumer Protection Division of the District Attorney's office has dedicated staff whose duties and responsibilities are to enforce the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), K.S.A. 50-623, et seq., which includes protection and education of the citizens of Sedgwick County against deceptive and unconscionable acts committed within Sedgwick County. In addition to civil penalties ordered and deposited into the general fund (over $400,000 in the last 10 years), the KCPA has a provision allowing for the collection of "reasonable expenses and investigative fees", K.S.A. 50-632(a)(4). When warranted, the Consumer Protection Division has collected fees to be used for purposes directly supporting the duties and responsibilities of the division, including partial funding of staff expenses. This position was established with the purpose to educate consumers, seniors and others who may be prey to crime committed within Sedgwick County. This position allocates approximately 50% of time to directly support the Consumer Division. The position is vital to the District Attorney's Office and the community. The investigative funds are nearly depleted.
Alternatives: Deny the request, leaving the position assigned to the DA's Grant Fund.
Financial Considerations: Total budgeted cost for the position is $72,069 in 2016. Currently, 0.51 FTE is already in the General Fund. This shift will reassign the remaining 0.49 FTE to the General Fund, adding $35,843 in anticipated costs. The District Attorney anticipates having sufficient authorized budget in plac...
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