Synopsis: A district attorney is an elected official who is not subordinate to the board of county commissioners (BOCC). As the county’s chief prosecutor, the district attorney has several statutory and ethical obligations, including a duty to manage his or her workload so that each matter can be handled adequately. Although the BOCC has general authority over county expenditures, it has a statutory duty to provide reasonable sums necessary for the district attorney to meet his or her statutory duties of office. The Kansas Supreme Court has held that a BOCC must approve an elected official’s expenditure if the expense is necessary for the official to fulfill his or her statutory duties. The Court also held that mandamus is the appropriate remedy if the BOCC fails to approve the necessary expenditure. Therefore, if the BOCC refuses to appropriate funds that the district attorney believes in good faith are necessary to fulfill his or her statutory obligations, the district attorney’s remedy is to file a mandamus action against the BOCC.
