'A terrible public safety threat': Dodge County loses all full-time prosecutors

[Jilly_in_VA]

Starting this Wednesday, Dodge County no longer has either a district attorney nor any full-time state prosecutors in an office that typically houses six attorneys who handle the county’s criminal prosecutions and civil matters.

District Attorney Kurt Klomberg put in his resignation, effective this past Friday, once he realized he’d be the last prosecutor in an office after a string of retirements and resignations that the office hadn’t been able to get applicants to replace.

“I really don’t have a choice,” Klomberg told Naomi Kowles on For the Record this week.

“This has been really one of the most difficult decisions of my life. I built this office with my partners here,” he said. “We were leaders in policy, procedure, management; we had been training other offices, consulting with almost every other DA’s office in the state.”

Klomberg, who has been the county’s district attorney for twelve years, started a plan six years ago to plan for retirements of key assistant prosecutors in the office. One aspect of the plan fell apart when a key replacement for a retiring attorney had to take extended family leave. The office wasn’t getting applicants — something Klomberg attributes to the $56,000 base starting salary for assistant district attorneys, far below private attorney salaries and even many government attorney positions like family attorneys and corporation counsels.

https://www.channel3000.com/news/for-the-record/for-the-record-a-terrible-public-safety-threat-dodge-county-loses-all-full-time-prosecutors/article_767794aa-7850-5dfd-8b6a-c210ef4003ff.html

[TheRealNorth]

7. It is a pretty red county....

[3Hotdogs]

2. Perfect ! The plan is working !!! Don't'ja see, gub'mint's the problem.

And the way to get rid of the problem --- pay the workers shit. They quit or don't apply for the job.

Gub'mint's gone, one department at a time.

Next up -- health department. Followed by tax collector's office: don't need that one.

[Tetrachloride]

4. Dodge County: Home of Fitzgerald and the Nehls

(one of the Nehls moved to Texas and is R congressman.)

3 state correctional facilities.

The Horicon Marsh.

John Deere.

A walmart warehouse

Dodge County leadership would fund whatever they feel like. but they don’t

[Tetrachloride]

5. Right next to Washington County: home of Glenn Grothman

a dim bulb if ever there was one

[Tetrachloride]

6. South of Fond du Lac County where the Republican candidate for

Wisconsin Attorney General is at.

[PlutosHeart]

8. Again is WI doing a test run

to take "justice" to the streets in shoot 'em up cowboy style? This is what the federalists want.
I am not joking.

[AllyCat]

10. $56k???

Starting pay for an attorney? Jeez. No one will do that.

[ewagner]

11. It's strange....

The State of Wisconsin (Supreme Court) sets AND PAYS the salaries for DAs and ADAs (District and Assistant District Attorneys). The County pays for support staff, office space, operating expenses etc.

I am a county supervisor in Wood County and we get frustrated with the constant turnover of ADAs because they are leaving for private practice. We (the county board) cannot raise the salaries of the DA or ADAs so we're stuck with rookie attorneys right out of Law School who get experience for a short time and head out to greener (money) pastures. There have been appeals to the state to raise the salaries but it apparently cannot be done. I don't see how the resignation of the DA helped anything.

[sybylla]

12. I've seen this in neighboring Clark County.

We had a long-time DA retire about 10 years ago. Ever since, we've had a different DA run in every election. One of them was a carpetbagger from the Fox Valley who was here long enough to start out as ADA, then put DA on her resume and leave.

I think the salary has been at this rate for all of those 10 years and more. Probably since the GOPpies took over both the state government and the WiSupremeCourt.

On their face, they won't revise how we police and decry "defund the police" movements, while at the same time making sure counties can't prosecute in a timely manner and the bad guys get out of jail free.