Board upholds discharge of former Milwaukee bridge operator after contested hearing

The Board of City Service Commissioners voted on March 27, 2026 to deny the appeal of former bridge operator Anthony S. Bass and uphold his October 27, 2025 discharge, after a multi‑witness hearing that included testimony from a tour-boat captain, bridge‑department managers and human-resources staff.

The commission’s president, Frank Bach, explained the hearing procedure at the start of the session and guided the board through admission of stipulated and unstipulated exhibits. Department counsel Andrew Simons told the board the Department of Public Works had shown Bass had committed multiple safety violations and had not cooperated with the department’s investigation, and argued the disciplinary action was appropriate to protect public safety. “The appellant violated various rules and had multiple major safety violations,” Simons said in his opening and closing remarks.

Why it matters: the department’s case centered on an incident on Aug. 22, 2025 at the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge, where a captain for the Vista King tour boat…