Wheeler council orders professional mediation after two formal complaints against Council President Karen Matthews

WHEELER — The Wheeler City Council voted to engage a professional mediator and pursue council-wide team building after two formal complaints were presented against Council President Karen Matthews during a public hearing.

The complaints — one filed by Interim City Manager Maddie Chesner and a second by Councilor Mary Webberich — allege recurring disrespectful conduct and interference with staff roles. The council, after hearing public comment and extended discussion, approved a motion to bring in a neutral mediator to work first with Matthews and Chesner and then with the full council; the motion also called for a structured team-building process and a review of charter rules governing council-staff interactions. The motion was declared carried by the presiding officer (no roll-call tally appears in the meeting transcript).

The complaint filings and the testimony made staff–council relations the meeting’s central issue. Chesner, who identified herself in the meeting as the city’s interim manager and sole administrator, described repeated attempts at informal resolution before filing a formal complaint and told…