To give more background, this is really the fault of the county which failed to fund the DA as he said they’d have to. Topeka never prosecuted these cases before, the DA did.

Taylor spoke Friday with The Capital-Journal about how his office would be affected if its 2012 budget — when it is finalized this week by commissioners Vic Miller, Shelly Buhler and Ted Ensley — continues to contain a tentative 10 percent cut from its 2011 budget.

Commissioners voted Thursday to reduce 12 separate county budget line items by 10 percent or more, including cutting the district attorney’s budget for 2012 by 10 percent, or $347,765, from its 2011 amount of $3,477,651.

Commissioners entered Thursday’s meeting needing to cut slightly more than $10 million from the 2012 county budget to avoid raising the county’s property tax mill levy and to end 2012 with the recommended cash carryover of $4.4 million. Commissioners made $4.8 million in tentative cuts Thursday.

Taylor also questioned the priorities commissioners have chosen with the budgets they’ve approved in recent years.

He indicated figures from the county’s website show funding for the county parks and recreation department rose by 78.8 percent from 2004 to 2011, compared to a 34.6 percent increase over that period for the district’s attorney’s office.

The county didn’t want to raise taxes, so they cut the DA’s budget, even after he informed them of what it would mean.