County commission concerned about special prosecutor fees

The Jackson County Commissioners recently expressed their concern with the amount of county funds being spent to employ special prosecutor Jacqie Spradling of Topeka throughout the Jacob Ewing trials.

So far, at the request of Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller, the county has paid Spradling $50,000 to serve as the prosecutor during the four trials involving Ewing.

In January, the county paid $10,000 to Spradling, with an additional $10,000 paid in May. In June, an additional $30,000 was paid to the Topeka lawyer. 

According to state statutes, appropriations for special prosecutors are not considered salaries under the county attorney budget but are to be paid from the county’s general fund. 

The commissioners sent a letter to County Attorney Miller requesting a copy of any contract or payment arrangements with Spradling as the prosecutor for the trials but have not received such information. They also requested information from Miller listing how much the county should expect to pay Spradling through the end of the calendar year. 

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