Newsroom blog: What’s coming up for October 8th

Wausau City Hall. MWC photo by Mike Leischner

The Wausau City Council is scheduled to take up a resolution regarding the much talked about municipal dropbox on Tuesday. And it’s not whether to use or not use the much-talked-about receptacle.

According to an amended agenda published on Monday, Alders will vote to spend $3,000 for updated security cameras and a new floodlight focused on the box. Language in the resolution notes that “[the] Wisconsin Supreme Court recently ruled that city clerks may utilize secure absentee ballot drop boxes for elections, and the previously identified installation concerns have been remedied.”

The proposal notes that the security camera on the front door at City Hall was due for replacement anyway because they were producing poor images.

Mayor Diny wheeled the box into his office weeks ago, noting that it hadn’t been secured to the sidewalk and anyone could have carried it away. The box was locked and had no ballots or documents inside it.

City Clerk Kaitlyn Bernarde later said she intended to have the box secured and opened that next week, citing a July 5th Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling which gives local clerks the authority to implement ballot dropboxes at their discretion, provided proper security and chain-of-custody measures are taken.

Tuesday’s meeting begins at 6:30 PM and public comment is part of the agenda.

It’s also important to note that the council must first vote to suspend their rules before taking up the item, as it has not been considered or voted on at the committee level.