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Cuba City residents press council on attorney hiring, audits and accountability
Summary
Residents at a Cuba City meeting pressed the council about whether the city solicited written proposals for its legal services and raised concerns about a previously questioned $50,000 transfer; staff said the audit remains in progress and the council said bids were solicited in late 2024.
Residents and council members clashed briefly during the citizen participation period over how the city fills legal roles and how financial transfers are handled.
At the start of the meeting a resident (identified in the transcript as speaker 6) asked whether the council had solicited written proposals from attorneys to fill the city legal position and cited ordinance 115.020, saying such business should appear on the public agenda. "Did you guys solicit written proposals from attorneys for the city councilor's job?" the resident asked.
Chair (speaker 2) and a council member (speaker 7) responded that the city "went out for bids for the lawyer" and that the solicitation likely occurred in December or January after the prior lawyer left. Jennifer (speaker 5), who was asked to provide audit information, told the meeting the 06/30/2024 audit is "still in progress," and staff cannot schedule some items until that audit is complete.
Council member (speaker 4) gave an extended statement urging transparency and accountability about a previously questioned transfer of $50,000, stressing the difference between seeking "blame" and establishing who, when and why an administrative action occurred. "When those questions are asked, if you don't get all of those, then what happens is you have a question that's left," the member said.
The council said the transfer in question was reversed and that staff has begun establishing a transfer policy to document future movements. The meeting record did not include a formal finding or a named mover initiating a separate investigation; no vote on disciplinary action or a special audit was reported during the session.
What happens next: staff said the ongoing audit must be completed before some agenda items can be scheduled for public action. Several residents told the council they expect clearer documentation of procurement and transfer decisions in the future.
