Chaska will pay less for its prosecution contract in 2010.

Carver County Attorney James Keeler appeared before the Chaska City Council Monday night to detail costs for his office’s services over the next year.

Chaska is one of 10 cities in Carver County that contracts with the Carver County Attorney’s Office to prosecute petty misdemeanors, misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and DWI cases.

Costs for services are proportionate to caseload and are averaged over a three-year period. Between August 2005 and 2007, Chaska had 650 cases. From 2006 to 2008, Chaska had 560 cases. Chaska’s average is about 53 percent of the total caseload in the county, Keeler noted.

“The city of Chaska is the largest consumer under the prosecution contract model,” he said.

In 2009, the city paid $37,900 for prosecution services. That rate will decrease slightly to $36,600 for 2010.

More than half (54 percent) of the prosecution contract is covered by fine revenue, 34 percent by city contract, and 12 percent by county subsidy.

Keeler said that over the next five to six years, they will be working to reduce the county’s portion to little to no subsidy.

-Mollee Francisco, staff writer