Except as otherwise specifically provided, the district attorneys of each judicial district in the state of Colorado shall be entitled to collect and receive at the end of each month, of and from the respective counties in the district attorney's judicial district, the necessary expenses of maintaining an office for the transaction of official business, which expenses shall be borne by the various counties in the judicial district, each in the proportion that the population of such county bears to the population of the whole judicial district, according to the last preceding population estimate that is prepared before May 1 of the current year by the division of planning in the department of local affairs pursuant to section 24-32-204, C.R.S. With the agreement of all of the boards of county commissioners of the judicial district, the funding allocation provisions of this section may be modified. Nothing in part 2 of this article or this part 3 shall prohibit any municipality, county, or government entity from agreeing to fund programs, projects, personnel, or salaries that are in addition to the funds provided for the reasonable and necessary expenses of the district attorney with the agreement of the relevant board of county commissioners.
Source: L. 41: p. 411, § 2. CSA: C. 66, § 93. CRS 53: § 45-2-4. C.R.S. 1963: § 45-2-4. L. 95: Entire section amended, p. 188, § 1, effective April 13. L. 2004: Entire section amended, p. 1884, § 1, effective June 4.
ANNOTATION
This section contemplates the maintenance of but one office of the district attorney, in each county of his district, and the district attorney himself is authorized to contract, and recover from the county, the attendant necessary expenses. Trowbridge v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 57 Colo. 106, 140 P. 195 (1914).
And not separate offices for assistants and deputies. It would be unreasonable to hold that this section contemplates that the district attorney, his assistant, and deputies may each maintain separate offices, as such officers, in each county of a judicial district, upon the claim that the expense is necessarily incurred in the performance of official duties imposed by law. Trowbridge v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 57 Colo. 106, 140 P. 195 (1914).
Budget proportioned by county. This section specifically provides for proportional payment by each county in a judicial district of the necessary expense of maintenance of an office by the district attorney for the transaction of official business therein. Trowbridge v. Bd. of Comm'rs, 57 Colo. 106, 140 P. 195 (1914).
Under this section the district attorney is entitled to the reasonable and necessary expense of maintaining an office, including the fees of a stenographer. The expense of the office is to be apportioned among the different counties of the district. Bd. of Comm'rs v. Walker, 66 Colo. 312, 181 P. 195 (1919).
This section requires that the budget submitted by the district attorney to each of the counties in the district be prorated on the basis of population. Johnson v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 174 Colo. 350, 483 P.2d 1344 (1971).
Applied in Beacom v. Bd. of County Comm'rs, 657 P.2d 440 (Colo. 1983).