A report from the Wisconsin Department of Administration shows state agencies within the criminal-justice system spent more than $97 million on services from outside contractors in fiscal year 2020.
The Wisconsin Department of Administration submitted an annual contractual-services report to the Joint Committee on Finance on Thursday. The state spent $878.8 million in total on contracting in fiscal year 2020, according to the report.
The state courts, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Justice and the Public Defender Board were responsible for $97,254,957 of that amount. Most comes from the Department of Corrections, which reported $79,432,919 in contractual-services spending.
Spending by agency within criminal-justice system
Agencies within the criminal-justice system reported spending the following amounts on contract services:
Circuit courts: $809
Department of Corrections: $79,432,919
Court of Appeals: $24,989
Judicial Commission: $2,548
Department of Justice: $11,707,032
Public Defender Board: $2,538,622
Supreme Court: $3,548,038
State agency legal spending
State agencies spent $264,529 on contracted legal services in fiscal year 2020, according to the report. That’s a small fraction of the more than $716.1 million total spending. To compare, the category with the highest dollar amount, labeled as Professional Services – General, accounted for $311,072,266 in fiscal year 2020.
Here are the totals for each legal service and which agencies paid for them:
Legal Services – Research: $17,435
Department of Administration: $1,064
Department of Justice: $6,247
Department of Workforce Development: $10,123
Legal Services – Litigation: $0
Legal Services – Collections: $144
Department of Natural Resources: $144
Legal Services – Consulting: $82,190
Department of Administration: $12,059
Department of Workforce Development: $70,132
Legal Services – Other: $164,760
Department of Administration: $5,664
Department of Employee Trust Funds: $5,367
Department of Financial Institutions: $40
Department of Health Services: $10,295
Department of Justice: $99,270
Department of Revenue: $500
Supreme Court: $21,576
Department of Workforce Development: $22,049
In addition, the report said agencies spent $107,035 on court reporters in fiscal year 2020.
Cost-benefit analyses for legal-related services
Agencies that estimate spending more than $50,000 on contractors must conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each proposed service. The report said agencies completed 377 CBAs in 2020. The Department of Corrections had the third-highest number of CBAs with 43 submitted. Other legal-related CBAs include:
The UW System estimated $302,860 for outside legal advice on issues relevant to the UW campus, while state services would cost $186,324.
The Department of Transportation estimated $367,084 for a contracted judicial outreach liaison, while state services would cost $561,871.
The Department of Children and Families estimated $234,000 for outside guardian ad litum services, while state services would cost $529,812.
The Department of Justice submitted two $573,000 estimates for outside technical architects, while state services would cost $354,724 each time.
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