JANESVILLE On Monday, the day that Todd Wolf committed to being a finalist for Janesvilles next city manager, court records reviewed by The 69蹤獲 show his lawyer was in the midst of filing a wrongful termination lawsuit against the city of Sheboygan.
The city of Sheboygan fired Wolf from his post as city administrator without cause about a month ago.
Janesville City Council President Paul Benson told The 69蹤獲 on Thursday that when the council on Monday afternoon picked Wolf as one of four finalists to replace former City Manager Mark Freitag, he was not aware Wolf was mounting a lawsuit against the city of Sheboygan and city officials there.
The council announced on Wednesday that Wolf, Scott Feldt, George Koczwara and Kevin Lahner were finalists to replace Freitag. Their names were released after a two-day period that the council said gave finalists time to talk over their prospects with family and current employers.
Benson told The 69蹤獲 on Thursday night that a Sheboygan resident on Thursday morning informed him that Wolfs attorney had filed the lawsuit in federal court in Milwaukee on Monday. It seeks damages against the city of Sheboygan and multiple elected alderpersons, the mayor and others in what Wolfs attorney characterizes in court papers as an unfair firing.
Court documents allege that Wolf was fired after denying city budget funding to an ad hoc local equity and inclusion activist group. Wolf declined to budget $70,000 for Sheboygans Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging group to provide the city equity and inclusion services. Wolf said the group had no organized plan, according to the suit.
In an additional twist, that funding denial happened after a city staff member used the N-word during a department head meeting to describe a racial slur a person had made at a city-hosted neighborhood chat, the suit says.
Some city officials said instead of condemning a staff member for repeating the slur, Wolf in public comments seemed to be more upset that someone on the city staff later publicly leaked that the staff member had used the N-word.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that after the funding request denial, some city officials orchestrated a probe of Wolfs conduct through a third-party investigator, and then placed him on leave in early November. In early January, the Sheboygan City Council voted 8-2 to fire Wolf without cause.
The suit further alleges city officials didnt tell Wolf what he was being accused of.
What Janesville knew
Benson said the Janesville City Council has been aware that Wolf was placed on leave and then fired.
Benson said Wolf in at least one interview over the past month talked briefly about the firing, which happened about two years into his tenure as city administrator. Prior to that, Wolf had spent decades as a plant manager at a local firm and spent some years during that time on Sheboygans city council.
Benson said, however, that Wolf gave no indication on Monday or at any time prior to this week, that he intended to sue the city of Sheboygan. And as of Thursday night, Wolf apparently hadnt informed the city of the lawsuit, Benson indicated.
We knew he was terminated. We had no idea the lawsuit was coming, Benson said. We knew he was on unpaid leave; he explained his side of the story briefly through the (citys paid consultant) search firm.
He (Wolf) was somewhat limited in what he could say, that is what he said, while he was still on paid leave, Benson said.
Benson said Wolf submitted a resume and an introductory video for the Janesville city manager job in January, through to the citys hired recruitment consultant.
Benson said as of Thursday night, Wolf hadnt reached out to the city of Janesville to give any indication of his coming plans, including whether he intended to remain under consideration for the city managers job.
Benson said he was not sure if the timing of the citys naming of finalists and the lawsuit being filed on the same day might have been planned or were simply coincidental.
I have no idea if our decision affected the timing of his lawsuit or not. Looks like he filed it the same day, Benson said. I have no idea. Its a question well ask.
Wolfs attorney did not immediately respond on Thursday to inquiries by a 69蹤獲 reporter.
Benson said Thursday night that he hadnt spoken to the citys consultant, GPS, about Wolfs lawsuit.
Benson noted that the Janesville City Council is launching its own background checks on all the finalists, and said the city expects to pick the best candidates based on all the information.
Meanwhile, the city announced Wednesday it intends to host public interviews with city manager finalists early next month. Public meet and greets with the candidates will take place at Janesvilles Rotary Botanical Gardens on the evenings of March 2 and March 3.
