WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAU) — Wausau’s city council will meet Tuesday night, but it’s what’s not on the agenda that could be boiling over.
Some of Wausau’s leaders have sought some form of punishment against Alderman Keene Winters for his choice of language and demeanor during a disagreement with Transit Director Greg Seubert. Council President Robert Mielke, Human Resources Director Myla Hite, and Mayor Jim Tipple began a special investigation into Winters’ actions, and hired an outside attorney, Dean Dietrich, to represent the city… not City Attorney Anne Jacobson.
Monday afternoon, Winters communicated with the Mayor and Council President, saying, “Today, at 1:07 p.m., the council received a attorney-client-privileged communication from Anne Jacobson regarding the investigation of Alderman Keene Winters. I am requesting that a timely addendum to the council’s February 9th agenda be issued so that we can discuss this communication in closed session tomorrow night and avoid having to gather for a special meeting. The agenda should include an action item that gives the council the option to waive privilege and release the communication to the public. There is significant public interest in the facts contained in the communication and no increased risk of adverse legal action from releasing the communication to the public beyond what already exists. On the contrary, it could be argued that further delay in releasing this information could increase potential claims of harm.” Robert Mielke told WSAU News he wanted to do that to be fair to Winters. Mayor Tipple told WSAU the council expects their packets by Thursday before the meeting, and it was not appropriate to add this item the night before the meeting.
Late Monday night, Winters released the previously confidential emails showing where Jacobson’s legal opinion advised against some of the actions sought against Winters because Winters would have been denied due process and because the city has no enforceable code of conduct against elected officials… even if they do things that violate employee policies. The emails also show where Jacobson and Hite do not share the same legal opinion on these issues. Since it’s not on the Tuesday February 9th agenda, it will be impossible to legally discuss any possible punishment, lawsuits, or resolutions related to the Winters investigation. Mielke did tell WSAU they may need a special meeting to take care of this.
Mayor Tipple has written a memo saying he is “stunned that she (Jacobson) continues an indirect attack of HR Director Myla Hite using the City’s Procurement Policy as the weapon.” Tipple reprimanded Jacobson February 4th for her “failure to comply with supervisory work direction.”
At this point, the city emails confirm Dean Dietrich from the Ruder Ware law firm is no longer representing the city in this matter. What’s not clear is if hiring him was a violation of the city’s procurement protocol or if the expenditure was allowable under the budgeted amount for legal aid in the Human Resources Department budget. Winters has claimed the hiring was a violation of the procurement policy. Administration disagrees.
This may be on the minds of council members at Tuesday night’s meeting, but it can’t come up. They will instead be busy voting on several items related to Thomas Street reconstruction, a new 29-unit housing structure, and several smaller issues.
The funding proposal for CBL & Associates to renovate Wausau Center Mall is part of the Economic Development Committee’s special meeting, but as of 1:00 a.m. Tuesday, the council meeting agenda has no item for this, or for suspending the rules to consider the Economic Development Committee’s actions on the mall plan, so it would be inappropriate to finalize the mall funding Tuesday.
