Staffing shortfall puts court collections work under scrutiny
MARINETTE — A staffing shortage in the Marinette County Clerk of Circuit Court’s office is delaying new submissions to Wisconsin’s state debt collection program, prompting committee members to question the financial impact and discuss ways to help. At the public safety committee’s Tuesday meeting, Clerk Carrie Brazeau described an office struggling to retain employees while managing a growing workload. Brazeau said the last state debt collection submission was completed in late January, covering December’s work. “I do not have the staff to keep up with the work,” Brazeau told the committee. The program collects qualifying debts owed to the county, with the state taking a commission from the amounts it recovers. Supervisor Peter Noppenberg said the county figures showed $945,071 collected through the program in 2025. He estimated that delays in sending new files could mean “approximately $79,000 in income every month is not being pursued.” Brazeau cautioned that the figures for submissions and collections were different. Money collected in a given month may come from cases submitted years earlier, she said and sending a file does not mean the county will receive payment immediately. “There is a difference between how much you submit and how much you actually receive,”
Marinette County, WI · 11h
