Aldermen get refresher course on duties 
by Brian Wilson
The Star News
February 4, 2010 —  City elected officials got a refresher course Tuesday night on what they should or should not do to avoid getting into legal trouble.
Dennis Tweedale, CEO of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities Mutual Insurance company presented a 20-minute video about preventing public officials liability.
The city recently switched to the league’s insurance for liability coverage and by watching the video received a $1,100 reduction in the city’s premium.
Overall, Tweedale explained Wisconsin has strong statutory protections and limits on liability for elected officials. He especially noted the state’s recreational immunity laws which protect municipalities from claims filed against them for injuries at parks, playgrounds, skating rinks and similar activities. Tweedale also noted however, that many of the areas in which cities can get into trouble could end up in federal court where state protections and liability limits are not in force and noted that if a city ended up in federal court and lost they would be responsible not only for the damages awarded but also for the legal fees of the plaintiff. He said the legal fees involved are significant and sometimes equal the amount of actual damages awarded to the the plaintiff.
Mayor Mike Wellner asked if other states were comparable to Wisconsin’s protections. “I would not want to be a public official in Illinois,” Tweedale replied, noting that state’s comparably weak protections for liability for elected officials, however, he noted most states have comparable coverage to Wisconsin.
Garbage contract
A plan for how the city wants to proceed with either searching out a new garbage and recycling collection vendor or extending the contract with Veolia will need to be discussed at a future meeting, said city coordinator John Fales.
The city’s long-term waste contract with the company expires at the end of the year and the city has the option to either extend the contract through negotiations with the company or put it out for bid.
Fales cautioned that there was more than just price to consider with the waste hauling contract. “It is more than just garbage we are talking about here,” Fales said.
Some factors the city will need to deal with include a new program requiring recycling of electronic materials such as computer equipment and also the level of indemnification the city has if a landfill site needs to be mitigated in the future.
The council is expected to discuss the plan of action at their next committee of the whole meeting later this month.
In other business, aldermen:
n Approved a new 3-year lease with the Medford Area Chamber of Commerce for rent of the former Medford Public Library Building. The new lease raised the rent to $200 per month until June 30. Starting July 1 and going to the following June rent will be $225 and will go up an additional $25 per month the following year. The new agreement replaces a 10-year lease which expired last year. Money from the rent goes into a separate account where it is used for upgrades, repairs and maintenance of the building. Fales said he would like the council to look at that fund later this year because it is accumulating a sum of money to see in the budget process if the city should tap into it for other purposes.
n Approved purchasing a used Bobcat Skid Steer from Niemuth Implement of Stetsonville for $16,000. The 2005 model has 941 hours on its engine.
n Approved hiring Process Equipment Repair Services of West Bend for $62,000 to rebuild the grit classifier at the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The equipment is used to remove sand and grit from the incoming raw sewage at the plant.
n Approved a $500 room tax grant request for a Snow Cross race at the Taylor County Fairgrounds on February 20. The event is put on by the Westside Trailwinders.
n Approved reducing the rent charged to db Wireless for leasing space on the city’s water tower to $100 per month.
n Approved parade permits for the American Cancer Society for the annual run/walk on Friday, May 21 beginning at 6:45 p.m. and ending at 10:30 p.m. and the Alzheimer's Memory Walk for Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 a.m.

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