Marathon County Courthouse. MWC file photo.
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — Marathon County’s Diversity Affairs Commission is hopeful that more education and some slight tweaks will allow the “A Community For All” resolution to pass later this spring.
During their regular meeting on Wednesday, the Commissioners decided to bring an educational presentation to an upcoming County Board Educational meeting to provide more insight into the goals of the resolution.
“The response [we saw] at the Executive Committee meeting was ‘I’ve heard from my constituents that this is offensive so I don’t support it,” said District 16 Supervisor Bill Conway of Schofield. “What I should have heard was ‘I heard from my constituents this is offensive but I told them no, it’s not that, and this is the reason why.”
The resolution was originally brought before the Board of Supervisors earlier this month. It was voted down because some felt it would do more harm than good. Others didn’t see the need for it.
Members of the commission will also consider including statistical data from the most recent Marathon County LIFE Report, the 2018 ALICE report, and Healthiest Wisconsin 2020 among others.
County Administrator Lance Leonhard, who is not a member of the Diversity Affairs Commission but did speak during Wednesday’s meeting with permission from Chair Yee Leng Xiong, added that a portion of the measure could leave the county vulnerable to lawsuits.
“From the cheap seats where I sit as staff, there was concern about unnecessary liability exposure. If the board wishes to set a standard that we are committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity and it will be reflected in our affairs at all levels- then you list them, you set an expectation that could lead to a suit,” said Leonhard.
“There are a lot of reasons you would want it to do more than simply proclaim we are a community for all and we reject hate-based activity but recognize it does that,” he added.
No vote was taken on Wednesday. The Commission did agree to work with County Board Chair Kurt Gibbs to find time for a presentation to the full board while working to re-tool the resolution at a future meeting.
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