Wausau Considering Incorporation Lawsuit

The city of Wausau is looking into legal action against a newly incorporated village of Maine on its northern border.

Last month, 83 percent of the residents of the Town of Maine voted to become a village to better manage the millions of dollars in debt they would acquire from the dying paper mill community of Brokaw. But the referendum question was drawn up in closed meetings that are alleged to be illegal, according to Matt Dregne, of the Stafford Rosenbaum law firm.

“The town board of the Town of Maine decided to pursue incorporation of the town in closed meetings and improperly noticed meetings and made other related decisions,” Dregne said. “Those decisions were critically important to landowners and other affected by the incorporation.”

The city of Wausau wants the incorporation voided so it can annex 906 acres in the new village.

Maine Chair Betty Hoenisch said village leaders “followed the law to the letter.”