INDEPENDENCE, WI (WTAQ) – A small town in western Wisconsin does not have a functioning city council, after losing half its members in just one week.
Wisconsin Public Radio said one alderman in Independence died recently, and two others resigned.
That left the council without a quorum for a meeting on Monday night — and it could not conduct any business for the city of almost 1,400 residents.
Mayor Robert Baecker said he was blindsided by the council departures. The city attorney has contacted the League of Wisconsin Municipalities for advice on what to do.
One of the resigning aldermen said the city broke the state Open Meetings Law during a recent annexation process that brought a frac-sand mine into Independence.
The Trempealeau County towns of Burnside and Lincoln filed suit against the city over the annexation, and Mayor Baecker says the city is looking at options to resolve the matter.
(Story courtesy of Wheeler News Service)
