The Wausau Ethics Board on Oct. 3 adopted a set of procedures for an Oct. 10 hearing on a pending ethics complaint against Mayor Doug Denny and approved an order of witnesses, while keeping subpoenas for the city clerk and the city attorney in effect.

The board’s actions came after board counsel Eric Larson and others told the panel that respondents’ counsel had scheduled depositions for the city clerk and the city attorney on Oct. 6. The board also heard that attorney Samuel Hall had notified board counsel that at least one subpoenaed witness asked to be excused because of holiday-weekend plans and that Hall intends to seek a protective order, which could delay the hearing if granted.

The board adopted the hearing rules by unanimous vote. The rules specify seating arrangements, a statement on decorum to open the hearing, that board witnesses will be called first, then respondent witnesses, and that the chair will conduct the initial questioning of each witness with board members permitted follow-up after recognition. The board also voted unanimously to approve the chair’s proposed order of witnesses, which begins with Police Chief Matt Barnes and concludes with the city clerk, the city attorney and the respondent if he testifies.

"I think it's time to get this thing dealt with," Doug, chair of the Wausau Ethics Board, said as he urged the panel to proceed with the hearing on Oct. 10. Eric Larson, the board’s attorney, told members that "these are board decisions" and emphasized that a chair ruling could be reopened for board discussion and a formal vote if any member requested it.

Board members discussed subpoenas after counsel said subpoenas had previously been issued and were reissued with the new hearing date. The chair said the subpoenas "didn't come out of the blue" and that most witnesses had received earlier notice; board counsel confirmed the depositions for Oct. 6 were arranged by respondent-side counsel. Attorney Andrew Erlinson, representing the respondent, later raised a separate procedural point about the board’s unpublished minutes and requested copies of the rules and witness order; the clerk agreed to provide them before the hearing.

The board discussed how to handle a motion for a protective order. Board counsel said a protective-order motion could be filed next week; the chair said the board would keep Oct. 10 as the hearing date for now and would "cross that bridge when we get that far" if a motion were filed. Board members noted the board cannot unilaterally extend the hearing date without agreement by the respondent under the board’s ordinance.

On post-hearing procedure, board counsel and the chair said deliberations would likely occur in closed session and that any written findings and conclusions required by the board’s rules must be produced within seven days. The board penciled in a follow-up meeting for Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 4:30 p.m. to review draft findings if needed; members stressed the date was tentative and dependent on how much deliberation the panel needed after the hearing.

Formal actions recorded during the meeting included unanimous votes to adopt the proposed hearing rules and the order of witnesses and a unanimous vote to adjourn. The board also agreed to distribute the adopted procedures and witness order to attorneys on both sides before Oct. 10.

The board’s proceedings on Oct. 10 could be delayed if a protective-order motion is filed and granted or if scheduling conflicts among subpoenaed witnesses are successfully argued to the board. The depositions for the city clerk and city attorney remain scheduled for Oct. 6, according to board counsel and respondent counsel.