Wausau City Hall. MWC file photo
A pair of court appearances and a discussion on how to help the homeless in Wausau highlight today’s offerings.
First Keyiondra J Smith-Chamness will be in a Marathon County courtroom for a plea hearing. He’s facing charges of impersonating a firefighter after he put on firefighting equipment and tried to jump in with crews as they were on a call at a boat landing in the Village of Maine during the summer of 2021. Court documents say he had tried to get a job as a first responder but was turned down.
In Wood County, former Marshfield Clerk of Courts Susan Carlson is scheduled to enter a plea to charges of stealing some $70,000 in citation payments that were supposed to go to the city. The irregularities came to light shortly after the new Clerk took office, and an investigation revealed several payments that went undocumented or were improperly handled.
As of late March, auditors were still working to figure out the extent of the losses. A statement from City Administrator Steve Barg said the city does have insurance for such instances and he intends to file a claim.
Carlson, who retired in early 2021, is free on bond.
Finally, the City of Wausau HR Committee will take up a proposal for the creation of a full-time community outreach specialist position within the Police Department. This was part of the recommendations of the recently completed Policing Task Force.
The position would be an expansion of the temporary Housing Task Force Officer. Chief Ben Bliven says since that position was implemented on a trial basis they’ve seen contact with 42 individuals who were either homeless or on their way to being homeless, with nearly 30 finding their way back into a home within a year. Additionally, the city has seen fewer reportable incidents involving the homeless population.
The proposed job description and other information about the position are available as part of Monday’s HR agenda packet. The meeting begins at 4:45 at City Hall, and a live stream will be available.
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