C: Users Tmcmaho Appdata Local Temp Protectlocalfiles 2014TR001010 Letterhead 1 - Mcmahon, Taavi

TREMPEALEAU COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Taavi McMahon District Attorney Trempealeau County Courthouse John H. Sacia Assistant District Attorney 36245 Main Street, P.O. Box 67 Robin Leonard Victim/Witness Coordinator Whitehall, WI 54773 Nancy Knudtson Paralegal/Office Manager Phone: (715) 538-2311, ext. 421 or 279 Carol Betthauser Legal Assistant FAX: (715) 538-4924 Victim/Witness Phone: (715) 538-2311, ext. 278

October 20, 2017

Trempealeau County Executive Finance Committee Tim Zeglin, Dick Miller, Sally Miller, John Aasen, Douglas Winters 36245 Main Street, PO Box 67 Whitehall, WI 54773

Re: Letter to Governor Walker

Dear Committee Members:

I hope this finds you well. I am writing in regards to the letter your committee sent to Governor Walker after your closed session meeting. As you are probably aware the press has been covering this story throughout the region.

I was surprised and disappointed by your letter. Specifically in regard to internal personnel issues, which are confidential, speaking publically about them is clearly inappropriate. I am represented by counsel in that matter and my lawyer has been in touch with Corporation Counsel and Human Resources for several weeks in an attempt to resolve the issue.

Our office is an excellent steward of public funds. As you are probably aware in fiscal year 2016 we were more than $9,000 under budget. Every year there is a budget process and every year the County Board approves or adjusts our budget, which represents one percent of the County’s total expenditures. We always do our best to be under budget and have consistently achieved that goal.

In your letter you expressed concern about our office purchasing a computer for private use. Our office like the entire Court system has transitioned to electronic filing and in doing so we made a decision to purchase a laptop for Court and remote work projects. We were having problems with our docking stations and an affordable solution was to have a dedicated computer for Court. Our computers are managed and maintained with technical assistance from of our State District Attorney’s Information Technology Bureau within the State Department of Administration. I can assure you that all of our computers are used for the State’s business.

I am particularly concerned by the criticism regarding Special Prosecutor assignments our office prosecutes. After the untimely and tragic death of Jackson County District Attorney Gerald Fox our office like many others in the region and the State Department of Justice agreed to assist TREMPEALEAU COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY Taavi McMahon District Attorney Trempealeau County Courthouse John H. Sacia Assistant District Attorney 36245 Main Street, P.O. Box 67 Robin Leonard Victim/Witness Coordinator Whitehall, WI 54773 Nancy Knudtson Paralegal/Office Manager Phone: (715) 538-2311, ext. 421 or 279 Carol Betthauser Legal Assistant FAX: (715) 538-4924 Victim/Witness Phone: (715) 538-2311, ext. 278 Jackson County with their case load. I am proud of our regional prosecutor’s offices, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, as well as retired former prosecutors who have stepped up to the plate.

Our office along with the same prosecutorial units mentioned above provided assistance in exactly the same fashion when Monroe County District Attorney Daniel Cary passed away some years ago. Your remarks in regard to this issue are ill-informed.

I am proud of the work our office does for the people of Trempealeau County. We prosecute all criminal matters from minor infractions to Felony matters. We have an open door policy with local law enforcement and communicate with them daily. We are proactive in regard to our victim cases by reaching out to victims of crime immediately after receiving a referral from law enforcement.

We have a very effective Diversion program for low-risk and young offenders. We are proud participants in Recovery Court. We handle all of the County’s juvenile cases as well as the Department of Human Services’ child protective cases and have made great progress in the resolution of these matters by using mediation.

If I had been invited to speak to you all of this information could have been shared. Simply put the job of representing the State in Trempealeau County is getting done. I welcome any inquiry regarding our office.

Very Truly Yours,

Taavi McMahon Trempealeau County District Attorney cc. Trempealeau County Corporation Counsel Trempealeau County Human Resources Governor Scott Walker Anne Jungen, La Crosse Tribune Debbie Foss, Trempealeau County Times Tiffany Olson, WKBT News