CONCORD, N.H. — Five county prosecutors have quit in Carroll County over the past four months, a turnover rate that has delayed some trials and forced the state attorney general’s office to send in reinforcements.

Deputy Attorney General Ann Rice said normal staffing levels at the Carroll County Attorney’s Office are three full-time prosecutors in addition to the county attorney, Tom Dewhurst.

The attorney general’s office dispatched one assistant attorney general to Carroll County in March and has since added a second in recent weeks to prosecute cases after two assistant county attorneys resigned. One of the lawyers quit after only three weeks on the job.

“We’re up there to stabilize the office and make sure the criminal process is happening,” said Rice, who called the turnover rate “unbelievable.”

Rice said the prosecutors’ salaries in Carroll County – from $46,000 to the upper $50,000 range – are on the lower end of the scale, relatively speaking, but aren’t “completely out of the realm.” She declined to speculate on what’s driving the turnover rate.

Dewhurst said the market for prosecutors is very competitive and commute time for some is an issue.

The staffing woes are playing out against a backdrop of a county facing a $2 million shortfall in its budget of $28.7 million. County officials say the county is faced with the prospects of cutting some funding to outside agencies, freezing payments or raising taxes dramatically.

Dennis Miller, one of three Carroll County commissioners and former chief financial officer of Parker Brothers games, resigned last week in frustration after seven months in office. He said the county’s financial situation amounts to “a death spiral” and that audits haven’t been done in years.

Miller said the turnover situation at the county attorney’s office pales in comparison to the bigger budget picture.

Dewhurst was first elected in 2010, chose not to run in 2012 then won re-election last November. He said he can’t discuss why individual prosecutors have quit, saying those are confidential personnel matters.

He said some trials have been delayed due to the turnover, but he sees a light at the end of the tunnel “if I can hire experienced prosecutors and pay them a competitive salary.”