The Muskego Common Council voted on Dec. 2 to approve Resolution 077-2025 concerning funding for the Hillandale Drive water-main project after an extended and at times contentious debate over how the council should characterize past actions and funding sources.

The debate centered on two competing drafts: one framed as "confirming" how the project had been funded and another that would have "authorized" funds now for the project. Alderman Dennis Decker (first referenced in the record at SEG 008) argued the council should avoid reopening the 2024 budget and instead "recognize" the funding, citing advice he said he received from the city's auditor and the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office. Decker said reopening the budget could trigger an audit and potential ARPA repayment rules if the project were later characterized as reallocation rather than the same project.

A different council member who identified concerns with reopening the budget (identified in the meeting record as the proponent of the "confirming" language) told colleagues that the legal meaning of words such as "authorize" and "confirm" matters and that reopening past budget approvals could create legal exposure. That speaker warned there was a nonzero risk that a third party could later challenge whether the council had properly obligated ARPA funds, and said, "I can't take that risk." (The statement appeared in the meeting record during debate.)

Alderperson Olathema Schrader (first referenced at SEG 004 and speaking at length during the debate) pressed for transparency and said public resolutions should be based on verifiable, on-the-record actions taken in open session, not on recollections from unrecorded closed sessions. Schrader questioned relying on disputed closed-session recollections from April 8, saying "final decisions, directions to staff, or authorization of expenditures cannot be made in closed session" under state open-meeting rules as read into the record.

Mayor and council members exchanged procedural motions during the hour-plus discussion. After a call to end debate, the council held a roll-call vote and the mayor declared Resolution 077-2025 approved.

Why it matters: The Hillandale spending dispute involved federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and a contested record about what occurred during an April closed session. Council members framed the disagreement as one of legal risk and public record: some urged a factual statement to explain what happened; others warned that changing the characterization of prior budget action could prompt auditors to require repayment of ARPA funds.

What happens next: With the resolution approved, the council moved on to other agenda business. The record shows the council also continued to discuss committee reports and future meeting scheduling; no further immediate action on Hillandale was recorded at the Dec. 2 session.

Quote: "Public resolutions must be based on verifiable on-the-record actions taken in open session, not recollections from unrecorded closed sessions," said Alderman Schrader during debate.

Ending: The council adjourned after conducting additional business and returning from a short closed session later in the meeting.