Claims by Atlantic County Prosecutor William Reynolds that his office is underfunded do not ring true with County Executive Dennis Levinson.
“While I applaud the hard work of the employees of the Prosecutor’s Office, I take exception when Prosecutor Reynolds makes statements that county government does not support his employees or fairly compensate them. That is simply not true.”
“As I have mentioned many times, the county prosecutor does not report to county government; he reports to the State Attorney General,” said Levinson. “County government has no say in the hiring of the county prosecutor.”
County government is responsible, however, for paying the salary of the prosecutor and his staff. The salaries of each of the four constitutional officers in each county is determined by state statute. They include the county prosecutor, surrogate, clerk and sheriff.
County Prosecutor William Reynolds is currently making $208,500, more than both the county executive and county administrator. He will be entitled to another salary increase in June 2026.
Most of the prosecutor’s staff are union employees whose salaries are negotiated as part of their respective collective bargaining agreements.
His 50 assistant prosecutors have annual salaries ranging from $75,000 to $154,000, placing them in the mid-range statewide, despite Atlantic County being the second poorest county in the state. Similarly, county detectives are in the mid-range with an average salary of more than $91,000.
“What may come as a surprise to the general public is that staff in Prosecutor Reynold’s office has been able to work remotely. While my legal staff is coming to the office five days a week, his staff is home two days a week,” said Levinson.
“How many people would like to have that option, but don’t. How many people would like to earn the salaries of these employees, but don’t,” he questioned.
“Plenty of residents must get up each day and get themselves to the office or job site without the luxury of spending two work days a week at home with full pay.”
The 2026 proposed budget for the Prosecutor’s Office is more than $18 million which includes an increase of $823,000 for salaries. County government has little say in how that money is distributed. According to Levinson, as long as the prosecutor works within the parameters of the appropriated funding, he has the decision-making power.
Levinson said he was compelled to respond to misinformation in a press release issued by the County Prosecutor. “It was not necessary or accurate. I could not let untruths go unanswered.”