Wausau Council Tables Ethics Pick During Diny Ethics Review

WAUSAU, Wis. (WXCO) – The Wausau City Council on Tuesday approved appointments to two city commissions but also tabled a nomination to fill a vacancy on the Ethics Board. 

The approved appointments included Wausau Mayor Doug Diny’s former mayoral rival Katie Rosenberg, who lost to Diny in the April 20-24 mayoral election. She will serve a five-year term as a citizen member of the Police and Fire commission ending in 20-30. 

The council also considered Diny’s nomination of former council president Debra Hadley to the Ethics Board. The nomination comes as the board is reviewing whether Diny violated city ethics rules when he removed an empty ballot box from the steps of city hall last September. 

Council president Lisa Rasmussen says circumstances haven’t changed since the last two times they considered Diny’s nominations to the Ethics Board. 

She says the current board members need to finish their review of the complaint against Diny before the City Council approves a new one. 

“The decision of this body has been that we would wait to adjust the composition of that board until that board finishes the matter that’s currently before them,” Rasmussen said, “Whether they finish it or dismiss it. I don’t care which, but that has to come to some kind of conclusion before we shake up the components of that board.”

The complaint against Diny, which was filed in January, alleges that he acted despite being told by the city attorney that only the city clerk has the authority to make decisions regarding ballot boxes. The ethics investigation began in February. 

Ethics Board members last week postponed a hearing for the complaint to no later than Oct. 10. The hearing was originally scheduled for Sept. 5. 

Rasmussen says it’s not a matter of voting the nominees down…it’s a matter of finishing one process before starting another.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s taken as long as it’s taken, but as long as that board has a functional amount of members to get this job taken care of, I feel like they need to take care of it,” she said.

The City Council will meet again on September 23.

---