Wausau council tables vote on continued outside counsel in mayor ethics matter, schedules closed session

The Wausau Common Council on Aug. 26 tabled a resolution to continue engaging outside legal counsel to represent unelected city staff in an ethics complaint related to a citizen complaint against Mayor Doug Denny.

Council members debated whether to authorize new funding for outside counsel before deciding to move the matter to a special closed session for further consideration. The council voted to table the resolution after an earlier attempt to limit additional fees to $15,000 — split $10,000 for prehearing preparation and $5,000 reserved for hearing attendance — failed on a 5-6 vote.

Supporters of continuing the representation said staff and subpoenaed witnesses need legal preparation and that the process must reach a conclusion. Ald. Aldo Rasmussen said the city needs “closure on this” and argued that without representation, the ethics process would stall. Outside counsel Sam Hall told the council that “this entire process has been incredibly unpredictable” and warned that discovery and depositions could expand in scope and cost; he said he could not give a firm estimate of remaining hours because the volume of required document review and length of depositions were unknown.

Opponents and some council members pushed for tighter limits and more transparency. Several aldermen asked for itemized billing and said additional spending should be authorized only after the council reviewed more detailed invoices; some said that if itemized privileged materials were needed for review, the council should meet in closed session to examine them. Ald. Mark Killian said constituents had expressed “tremendous concerns about the money we’re spending on legal fees.”

Council procedure: the resolution (file 25-0112) was put on the floor by Ald. Larson with a second; Ald. Rasmussen offered the amendment to cap additional fees at $15,000, which was seconded and then defeated on a 5-6 vote. After further discussion, Ald. Luke Lukens moved to table the resolution to a special meeting to be held in closed session; Ald. Tierney seconded and the motion to table was approved.

The council did not decide whether to approve further funds at the Aug. 26 meeting. Members said they would canvass availability for a special closed session meeting to consider further authorization and to review privileged billing details if necessary.

Ending — next steps: The council directed staff to schedule a special closed-session meeting to consider the outside-counsel authorization and related billing details before the ethics board hearing proceeds further. No new authorization was approved on Aug. 26.