Ethics Board To Meet About Complaints Against Two Aldermen

The Ethics Board will meet at 4:30 p.m. Thursday to consider a complaint that was filed by a Waukesha business owner against two Waukesha aldermen over their dual roles as members of the Common Council and the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors.

Kathleen Cummings and Duane Paulson owner of Leather Restoration, during the city’s discussions about the possibility of joining the county’s dispatch system while abandoning the city’s own dispatch center. The council decided last week to continue operating the city’s dispatch center, but the issue could be revisited with additional information.

 “Both receive a higher payment from the county than the city,” Johnson wrote in the ethics complaint. “Therefore they have a conflicted competing interest in the dispatch being moved. The county will be benefited by this action at a cost of the city.”

Paulson and Cummings have maintained that while they hold dual elected positions, they represent the citizens of Waukesha – not the government entities. Additionally, Paulson previously asked the city attorney’s office to issue an opinion about the legality of holding two elected offices. The city attorney’s office responded that it is permissible under law to hold the two positions.