Second attorney hired in records investigation

JANESVILLE — The city of Janesville has hired a second outside attorney—this one to investigate if city records were illegally released.

Meanwhile, the other outside attorney is investigating accusations that city records were illegally destroyed.

Acting City Manager Jay Winzenz could not say how much the city has spent on the investigations.

Steve Zach of the Boardman Law Firm in Madison was hired earlier to investigate if Mike Williams, leisure services director, illegally destroyed public records.

Now, JoAnn Hart of Stafford Rosenbaum in Madison is investigating the release of a record by another employee that contained disciplinary information.

Hart was hired after The Janesville Gazette and a city employee in May requested records under the state's open records law.

Some city council members said they were unaware of the investigation into the release of records until they were told by a private citizen and the media. Council President Amy Loasching said she still is unsure what Hart is investigating and what the ultimate cost will be.

Everything stems from an incident involving then-City Manager Steve Sheiffer and his teen relative. The relative worked at the ice arena and in January made unfounded accusations against her supervisors. Some city employees said the teen's relationship to the city manager made it difficult to handle the matter.

Recreation Director Bonnie Davis secretly tape recorded meetings with Williams, her supervisor, to protect herself and the ice arena supervisor, she said.

On one of the tapes, Williams is heard saying he destroyed records relating to the ice rink personnel matter.

He had the conversation with Davis after the Gazette requested the records.

Davis also released documents to the Gazette, at least two of which were withheld from the Gazette by the city. One was an e-mail on a city policy of nepotism that required supervisors to hire the children of current and former city employees for temporary help. The city later released the records.

Winzenz said Hart was hired to investigate whether a document containing disciplinary information was improperly released.

"We know the record was released because you had it," he told a Gazette reporter. "But we don't know who released that record to you."

Davis said she is the focus of Hart's investigation.

Winzenz said Hart also is working with Davis' attorney to get Davis back to work. Davis has been on medical leave but recently was cleared to return to work by her doctor.

Davis said getting back to work never was part of her interviews with Hart.

Hart also contacted resident Don Allison, who stored Davis' tape recordings on his computer. Allison said the contact alarmed him.

He said the city might be looking for a scapegoat in investigating Davis instead of investigating the real perpetrators.

"I'd like to see an investigation not down, but up," he said.

Davis said she would have given the tapes to city officials if they had asked.

Instead, Davis gave them to Hart when Hart asked.

Winzenz said the city hired outside council rather than have City Attorney Wald Klimczyk conduct the investigations.

"Open records law is very specialized, and it's constantly changing and evolving on specialized issues. We sometimes seek outside legal advice," Winzenz said. "These are things we don't deal with on a daily basis."

Winzenz said he thought hiring two attorneys was "in the city's best interest to have separate parties looking into those matters, since they were really unrelated to each other and to have a set of fresh eyes."

Loasching said she asked Winzenz about the latest investigation, but he hasn't provided many specifics.

"When I brought it to his attention that employees are being questioned, he said he didn't have any knowledge about what was being said at the meetings," she said.

"If she is really doing an independent investigation, in my opinion, she should be fact-finding," Loasching said. "Based on everyone who has contacted me who she has interviewed, it seems to be more of an accusation-type of investigation."

Loasching wonders why the city has hired two outside attorneys rather than using the city attorney.

"Every time I turn around, we're hiring a private attorney," she said.