Wausau City Hall
Will there be a last-minute curveball related to the ethics hearing involving Wausau Mayor Doug Diny?
The city’s Ethics Board scheduled a meeting for Tuesday afternoon for “Consideration and possible action to reschedule the hearing date regarding the complaint made against Mayor Diny.” The agenda also includes discussion surrounding “additional investigation” into the complaint.
It’s unclear what brought this on, but we do know that one member of the Ethics Board felt they didn’t have all the facts of the situation because City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde and Attorney Anne Jacobson didn’t provide sworn statements regarding Diny’s handling of a locked, unsecured municipal dropbox that was left outside City Hall over a weekend last September. That prompted the Board to request information from both, including what information they could provide and what evidence had been turned over to state investigators as part of their dive into the matter.
Bernarde said she had intended to have the box installed and opened the next week so it could be used to receive absentee ballots ahead of the 2024 Presidential Election.
Diny noted that the box was not secured to the sidewalk and anyone could have walked off with it, so he brought it into his office for safekeeping. The box was eventually returned to Bernarde and installed.
A hearing is currently scheduled for Wednesday Afternoon. Packet materials were not provided with the agenda, meaning it’s unclear what prompted Tuesday’s discussion. The meeting begins at 3:30 in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
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