(CENTREVILLE) – The St. Joseph County Commission approved an exception to their hiring freeze during Tuesday's meeting.

By a 5-0 vote, the Commissioners lifted the hiring freeze to allow the St. Joseph County Prosecutor's Office to fill the Assistant Prosecuting Attorney 2 position. Prosecutor John McDonough says many of the people he has hired over the years have left the office to go into the private sector.

McDonough also says it's difficult for county's like St. Joseph to hire and retain prosecutors. ...... {LISTEN}.

McDonough says his office's pay for prosecutors is comparable to other area counties. He says there is another factor that has been hurting his opportunity to find people to hire. ...... {LISTEN}.

Commission Chairman Dennis Allen said if there is something they can do to help retain these prosecutors, to let them know so they can take the appropriate steps.