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State's Attorney outlines modest budget needs and warns probation/parole and treatment gaps fuel repeat crime
Summary
Lincoln County State's Attorney Tom Wohman described modest increases for staff and training, said he continues to carry a substantial caseload, and told commissioners that probation/parole supervision and rehabilitative services are the county's biggest shortcomings in addressing drug- and alcohol‑related crime.
State's Attorney Tom Wohman presented his office's proposed 2026 budget items and used the discussion to highlight broader criminal-justice concerns affecting Lincoln County.
Wohman said his office has a funded but vacant attorney position and included a senior trial position in the proposed budget. "We have an open attorney position in the office that was funded ... we have not been able to fill that, but we anticipate filling it soon," Wohman said.
He framed his staffing and training requests in the context of casework: the office carries more than 100 active felonies and recently concluded a multi-year homicide prosecution. Wohman emphasized that addiction to methamphetamine, other controlled substances and alcohol is a primary driver of the county's caseload and argued the criminal-justice system is under-resourced on rehabilitative services and supervision. "I would say the penalties that are available under state law are sufficient... I think we're missing the mark on the rehabilitative side," he said, urging better probation and parole management and faster consequences for violations.
Commissioners asked about DUI and repeat-offender rates, whether presumptive probation is effective and how county costs for indigent defense and criminal processing affect property taxpayers. Wohman said some sentencing tools are limited by statute and that managing probationers and parolees more closely would require more funding and coordination with state agencies.
No formal vote was associated with the state's attorney presentation; commissioners thanked Wohman and asked him to return as the budget process continues.
