Darien official resigns

Marc Dennison

DARIEN — After a tumultuous first year in office, village Administrator Marc Dennison has resigned.

Dennison announced his decision to the village board Wednesday. His last day of work will be April 30, his letter states.

Dennison’s first day on the job was Dec. 1, 2008. That was the day village employees found surveillance cameras in a potted plant in the police department lobby and atop a credenza in Police Chief Steve DeVoy’s office.

Dennison was one of the witnesses that evening as former village President Bob Metzner suspended DeVoy, former village Clerk Connie Machi said.

An investigation later showed the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office installed the cameras at DeVoy’s request.

DeVoy’s suspension kicked off a long year of contentious politics in the village. That left the newly hired Dennison to deal with many requests for information under the Wisconsin Open Records Law and discussions with village counsel and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

The small village stayed in the news throughout 2009, which meant Dennison was regularly responsible for communicating with local media.

In February, Dennison managed his first municipal election. The ballot included a primary race for village board as well as a referendum. That resulted in a recount election requested by candidate Helen Burton, who lost the chance to be in the general election by two votes.

Later that month, Dennison joined nine other village employees who filed a notice of claim stating the cameras violated their Fourth Amendment rights.

Also in February, the seven members of the village board were charged with two counts of violating Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law. One of the counts stemmed from the board’s October 2008 meeting with Dennison and other administrator candidates.

The April ballot included a referendum question.

Throughout the year, the village wrangled in court with DeVoy, and the village board met on many occasions in closed session.

In September, the sheriff’s office announced it would no longer investigate politically motivated complaints in Darien, including one President Evelyn Etten filed against Dennison.

In November, the village settled with DeVoy.

Dennison has accepted a job in a different community but declined to tell the Gazette where he will be working.

Prior to working for Darien, Dennison worked as economic development director for Pine Island, Minn., a city of 3,200 about 14 miles north of Rochester, Minn. He worked there since 2007, according to his resume.