Oconomowoc council disallows Craig Brown damage claim after insurer finds city not at fault

The Oconomowoc Common Council voted Dec. 3 to disallow a claim from Craig Brown for vehicle damage after staff and the city’s insurer concluded the city was not responsible for a missing manhole cover.

City staff told the council that the insurer’s investigation found the city crew did not remove the manhole cover that led to the damage on Half Swarms Boulevard. “Our insurance company investigated and determined that it wasn't our city crew that had removed that manhole cover,” a staff member said during the meeting.

An alderman recused herself from the vote, saying, “Craig Brown is my former legal secretary's husband, and they also called my office about this incident,” and that she believed recusal was appropriate. The council discussed whether the claimant could pursue other parties; an attorney present said claimants can sue other entities, including the city or private contractors such as Graf Engineering, which was mentioned in the discussion.

A motion to disallow the claim was made and approved on a roll call; the record shows the council found no negligence by city staff and advised the claimant may pursue other responsible parties. The council did not adopt any additional corrective measures at the meeting.

The disallowance follows the city’s standard process of review by staff and its insurer; the meeting packet included a background memo outlining the insurer’s recommendation to deny the claim. The council’s action was limited to the claim on this incident; no ordinance or new policy affecting stormwater or manhole inspection protocols was proposed during the discussion.

The meeting moved on to other agenda items after the vote.