State legislators in Waukesha County push for more district attorney positions in budget

Yahoo

22-05-2025

The Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, struggling through what it considers a critical staffing shortage, has at least caught the ears of eight state legislative leaders.
Wisconsin State Assembly representatives whose districts include Waukesha County submitted a budget amendment motion on May 20 that proposes funding for the addition of 10 more Waukesha County assistant district attorney positions — a measure they say addresses a core Republican concern about public safety.
The effort at least targets a concern county officials have recently addressed about the lack of funding for state-mandated services.
In April, Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese focused on her own 16-attorney department. In a loosely orchestrated public campaign, including media interviews, she spelled out the difficulties her staff has faced as caseloads have grown and the number of prosecutors to work on them has not.
"It's just become a crisis," Boese said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in April. "I've got prosecutors who I think are kind of getting burned out by the hours. At some point, you can't do more with less."
Individually, the eight legislators — State Reps. Scott Allen, Barbara Dittrich, Cindi Duchow, Dan Knodl, Dave Maxey, Adam Neylon, Jim Piwowarczyk and Chuck Wichgers — essentially concurred in statements issued May 20. In a news release, they noted that the budget proposal addresses rising caseloads and criminal justice efficiency.
"Public safety is the primary function of government," Allen, of District 82, said in a statement. "We cannot keep our community safe if our justice system does not have enough staff to do the work."
Neylon, whose District 15 office issued the news release, noted the caseload backlog threatens a fundamental right to "timely justice" for victims and defendants alike.
"The justice system in Waukesha County is under immense strain, with a growing backlog of unresolved cases," Neylon, of Pewaukee, said. "Without immediate investment in staffing, our courts cannot ensure a fair and swift judicial process. It's time to give Waukesha County's justice system the tools it needs to serve our community."
District 97 Rep. Duchow, R-Town of Delafield, echoed earlier data called out by Boese, who noted that Waukesha County had the second fewest prosecutors per capita in the state, based on 2024 figures. (Using two different metrics, Boese said her office is short between 10.6 to 24.7 attorneys.)
"The Waukesha County's DA office has been and continues to be understaffed and overwhelmed," Duchow said. "We're not talking about a few vacant positions, or having a few extra cases to manage."
Legislators also echoed concerns by county officials about the impact of residents from outside the county on the local criminal caseload. You can read the statements from all eight legislative leaders here.
Strictly speaking, the proposal for more district attorney funding isn't tied to existing legislation. Rather, it's part of a collection of ideas, in the form of budget motions, that will take shape in the coming weeks as the state fully forms its budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.
In a brief phone interview, Allen noted that the Assembly's Joint Finance Committee "has only taken a couple of actions so far," meaning the process is barely underway to create a 2025-2027 budget. Whether the district attorney staffing issue will gain the support of that committee depends on numerous factors as funding prospects are debated. The district attorney proposal will fall under the state Department of Justice budget, Allen said.
Ideally, the budget process would conclude prior to the start of the new fiscal year, he said. Otherwise, under Wisconsin law, the government would continue to operate under funding established in the current fiscal year.
As such, additional funding for the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office would have to come from the new fiscal year budget.
The funding proposal is tied to a broader effort by the county officials to gain additional financial assistance from the state for mandated services. Those services include law enforcement and prosecutorial positions that county officials say are threatened by their own budget.
County officials, whose own budget crisis was publicized in 2024 as they considered a local sales tax to raise new revenue, had indicated in recent months that they hoped to gain legislative support for more state funding. That push became more pronounced after the county abandoned an ordinance proposal that would have put a county sales tax in place on July 1, 2025.
But the district attorney proposal represented a more focused effort, citing what officials called an unworkable situation that threatens public safety.
In a May 21 statement, Boese thanked area legislators for hearing her message, noting that funding for county attorney positions doesn't only fall short in Waukesha County. "The lack of funding for prosecutors in Wisconsin has hit a crises level," she said.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Legislators seek funding for Waukesha County District Attorney jobs