Genesee County Prosecutor Faces Layoffs as State Grant Funding Runs Dry

At least 21 employees in the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office could face layoffs as state grant funding has run dry.

County officials expected to discuss the potential layoffs before the Genesee County Board of Commissioners meets next week.

Without additional funding, the loss will trigger layoffs automatically, county officials said. This cuts deeply into Prosecutor David Leyton's staff of 77.

Chief Financial Officer Crystal Simpson told commissioners on Wednesday April 15 that funding from the High-Crime Community Support Grant program ran out last week. This triggered the pink-slip process.

Simpson said $1.8 million in funding would be required to pay the full cost of 21 grant-funded employees and 11 additional employees partially funded by the program for the remainder of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

Leyton described the potential loss of employees, primarily assistant prosecutors, as a nightmare scenario that would cause further backlogs of criminal cases and longer waits to resolve cases of jail inmates.

"It will back us up something terrible," the prosecutor said. "There will be unhappy judges, jail overcrowding and backlogs of cases and warrants."

In March, Leyton wrote to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer telling her the county could not sustain cuts from the program. The program was originally heralded as a new built-in revenue stream for Genesee and five other counties with high crime rates in 2023.

The program was funded with a state earmark of $12 million, one of at least 342 set-asides totaling nearly $1.6 billion in the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Leyton said the state program funding was sold as a continuous funding stream for prosecutors in Genesee, Ingham, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Saginaw and Wayne counties.

In his letter to Whitmer, Leyton said funding from the program started as promised, but payments have been regularly delayed. Additional communities were added, reducing available funding to the originally included counties.

"It was not until Feb. 27, 2026, that we received an email from the state that we would only be receiving $1.4 and $1.5 million for fiscal years 2025 and 2026," Leyton's letter reads.

"The bottom line is we have hired and given promotions and pay raises to dozens of employees since 2024 in reliance upon promises that the state would be giving us at least $3 million each year," Leyton's letter reads.

"What was supposed to be a lasting annual funding source was quickly appearing to be a nightmare scenario where we barely made it past one year," Leyton's letter reads.

Commissioners took no action on the grant-funded employees on Wednesday. Director of Administration Joshua Freeman said the budget they adopted last year includes language spelling out that grant-funded positions were contingent on expected revenue.

Although Leyton said he has continued to work with state Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, and the Governor's Office to restore funding, Freeman said they have nothing concrete showing they will receive it.

"By this board's direction, we should be issuing layoff notices for those positions funded by this grant," Freeman said.

Neither Cherry nor a spokesperson for Whitmer immediately commented on the situation in response to MLive-The Flint Journal on Wednesday.

Commissioner Martin Cousineau, D-Thetford Twp., said no progress has been made with the state at this point in time.

"It's something we need to take care of, unfortunately, as soon as possible," said Cousineau, the chair of the commissioners' finance committee.

In addition to the state, Leyton said county commissioners need to step up to the plate too, potentially making up for some of the lost state funding.

"The county has continuously underfunded me, which is why I turned to the state," Leyton said.

Commissioners said they can't afford to replace every grant that pays the salary and benefits of county government workers from their general fund.

"I really don't know where the magic wand is going to come from to change that," said Commissioner Shaun Shumaker, R-Fenton Twp.

Commissioners unanimously approved Leyton's plans to reorganize his office in September 2023, counting on the new state revenue stream to add employees and pay for staff raises.

The prosecutor has long said his office has struggled to retain attorneys because of the county's relatively low level of pay and the heavy caseloads each attorney carries.

The plan is for this to be sustainable funding, Leyton said then. Senator John Cherry said to him: You've got to spend it or the state's going to cut it off. But if you do spend it, they are likely very likely to continue it.