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Waukesha committee debates moving city attorney to appointed post, asks for ordinance revisions and more input
Summary
Committee members discussed a draft ordinance to convert the City of Waukesha's city attorney from an elected to an appointed position, airing concerns over authority, reporting lines, removal thresholds and outside-counsel control; the committee asked staff to revise the draft and asked members to submit written comments for a future meeting.
A referral to consider changing the City of Waukesha's city attorney from an elected to an appointed position drew extended debate at the Ordinance and Licensing Committee meeting on July 28, with members split on trade-offs including the candidate pool, independence, reporting relationships and removal procedures.
Beth, a committee member who introduced the draft, said the proposed change is about how the city chooses its chief legal officer, not a critique of the incumbent. "I am only speaking about how to choose another attorney," she said, describing the draft ordinance circulated in committee materials and asking the group whether it preferred to retain an elected attorney or move to appointment.
Committee members generally acknowledged benefits of appointment — broader candidate pools and private recruitment — but raised multiple concerns after…
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