Did a Portage County Board supervisor violate the county’s code of conduct? A committee must decide.

STEVENS POINT − Did a Portage County Board supervisor violate the county's code of conduct? That is what members of the county's Executive/Operations Committee are working to determine after almost a dozen complaints were filed by a group of county residents.

The committee met again Tuesday night to discuss the complaints, which were submitted on Sept. 22 and list 11 incidents over the course of 15 months beginning in June 2022 in which District 25 Supervisor David Peterson, in his role as Land and Water Conservation Committee chairman, violated the county’s code of conduct or Ordinance 3.1.51.

The county's code of conduct is a set of principles and expectations for all committee members and lists items related to fairness, respect, honesty, and things like showing up to meetings prepared and having reviewed materials.

Outside counsel was brought in to help sort through the extensive complaints and help facilitate a discussion among committee members as to how the conduct ordinance may have been violated. The outside counsel addressed concerns about delays and the length of time the process was taking, and said appropriate action and correct procedures were being followed to consider the complaints.

County ordinances state the committee should decide within 10 days whether the complaints have merit then move forward with an investigation. The committee received the complaints prior to its Nov. 7 meeting but voted in that meeting to postpone action until its planned December meeting, 28 days later. County ordinance states the time frame for considering complaints can be extended up to 20 days “only for good cause.”

What is in the complaints?

Details from the complaints refer to Land and Water Conservation Committee meetings during which items related to the ongoing contamination of many of Nelsonville homeowners' private water wells were on the agenda.

In recent years, wells in Nelsonville have been found to have increased levels of nitrates, a chemical commonly found in fertilizers. Over the last several months, plans for groundwater testing stations related to the water quality issues in Nelsonville have stalled in this committee.

The complaints list instances where Peterson, who is the chairman of the committee, botched committee processes, did not consider all offered viewpoints and made aggressive comments.

County ordinances lay out penalties for code of conduct infractions, which range in severity. They can “direct” the offending person to follow the provisions in the code, censure or reprimand the person, remove the person from their board seat or even fine the person referring to a state statute regarding “neglect of duty.”

What happens next?

Over 50 people attended Tuesday's meeting and 12 made public comments. A couple of County Board supervisors also spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting. Comments from the public largely asked for accountability and for focus to remain on the clean water issue.

The committee proceeded to closed session for almost an hour. When they returned, their reserved time in the Portage County Annex conference room had began to conflict with a scheduled meeting of the Land and Water Conservation Committee. The committee voted to adjourn until 1 p.m. Dec. 12 on the second floor of the Annex when they will discuss the complaints in detail.

Committee work is expected to continue for at least a month, at which point, a recommendation may be sent to the full County Board.

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Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA-TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Reach him at epfantz@gannett.com or connect with him on Twitter @ErikPfantz.

This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Did Portage County Board supervisor violate county’s code of conduct?