May 7, 2026
By Tim Hundt
VIROQUA Wis.
The fallout from a recent reorganization of Vernon County government was on full display during the May 6 meeting of the General Government Committee. The meeting laid bare the obvious tension and division resulting from County Board Chair Lorn Goede overhauling the committee assignments following his narrow reelection last month. Goede removed former committee chair Alycann Taylor and Supervisor Wayde Lawler who had both advocated for making the county attorney a full-time employee rather than a contracted service.
Now led by newly appointed Chair Dave Eggen the reorganized committee met to tackle a heavy agenda filled with legal issues. However the most glaring absence from the room was Corporation Counsel Nikki Swayne. Eggen had specifically requested that Swayne not attend her own oversight committee meeting in person, even though she remains under contract through the summer.
The meeting began with Lawler using the public comment period to call out the decision to exclude the county attorney.
“Welcome to the new committee members,” said Lawler. “I had a great time serving on this committee for the last two years and hope you do for the next two”.
Lawler quickly pivoted to the absence of Swayne as the committee prepared to navigate complex issues like concealed weapons policies, data center moratoriums and a legal fight against a massive transmission line project.
“You will note that corporation counsel is not in the room,” said Lawler. “This is the committee that corporation counsel reports to and you will note that the other staff members that report other departments that report to this committee are in the room”.
Lawler criticized the explanation he was given for her absence which centered on saving the county money on her hourly contracted rate.
“I have been told that the justification for that request was primarily a cost savings one,” said Lawler. “At Corporation Counsel current rate, and if we assume three hour meetings for general government you are talking about less than $5,000 dollars a year”.
Lawler warned the new committee members that trying to save a few dollars by keeping their attorney at home was putting the county in a dangerous position.
“It also raises serious questions about the legal risk and liability that this committee and therefore the full county would be exposed to not having adequate legal counsel at the table,” said Lawler.
“Your concerns are noted,” said Eggen.
The tension flared again later in the meeting when the committee reached the agenda item intended for an update on county legal matters. Eggen skipped the agenda item typically reserved for a report from Corporation Counsel. Swayne had submitted a written report in lieu of her physical attendance. Eggen stated he had only asked Swayne for updates on the data center and the transmission line issue.
Taylor who attended the meeting online pushed back and demanded that Swayne’s full written memorandum be entered into the public record.
“Well that should be read into the record,” said Taylor.
County Clerk Jerry Pedretti interjected.
“She wants you to read all six pages into the record,” said Pedretti.
“No, I do not need that,” said Taylor. “Do not speak for me Jerry. I am curious if there was something that was supposed to be put into the public record”.
At one point Lawler pointed out the Pedretti is not member of the General Government Committee.
“I would just point you’re not a member of the committee, so your opinion on that is not germane,” Lawler said.
“You say that, but you’re not a member of it either,” said Pedretti. “And neither is Trisha.”
Trisha is Human Services Director but is currently acting as the interim county administrative coordinator as well.
Eggen reluctantly read the memo which contained Swayne’s warning about the dangers of written legal advice provided in a vacuum.
“Written advice provided in isolation carries inherent limitations and I cannot be fully accountable for guidance given without access to a deliberate context that would inform it,” read Eggen from Swayne’s memo. “It bears noting as well that preparing a comprehensive written legal Memorandum of this kind is time sensitive. The committee is encouraged to reconsider this practice”.
Lawler brought up another section of Swayne’s memo focusing on ethics and conflicts of interest. Swayne had written a section advising all supervisors to review meeting agendas and identify any item that could financially affect an immediate family member employed by the county. While Swayne did not name specific cases her memo noted that the county has a number of board members with family members working in several county departments and warned of the severe consequences of violating ethics laws.
Pedretti rejected the premise of the warning and argued there was no actual problem. He pointed to the state statutory definition of immediate family which generally means a dependent living in the same household or receiving more than half of their support from the official.
“I think it would be important to also look at what is defined in that same chapter as an immediate family before we get into the weeds about what are conflicts,” said Pedretti. “Of course, again, I am not a lawyer.”
The fractured relationship between the county board and its attorney reached a breaking point late last month when Swayne submitted her resignation. Her decision to step away followed months of debate and a failed vote in April to transition her contracted position into a permanent full-time county job.
The committee was forced to decide whether to accept a 60 day or 90 day window for the dissolution of her legal services agreement. Supervisor Bruce Kilmer argued the county needed the maximum amount of time to find a replacement given the heavy workload.
“I will make a motion to go with 90 days on the separation,” said Kilmer.
The committee unanimously approved the motion to set the separation at 90 days which will keep Swayne on board until late July.
The conversation then shifted to how the county will replace her services. The committee discussed issuing requests for proposals from outside law firms. Eggen suggested splitting the county legal work into different contracts. He proposed allowing the Human Services Department which generates the majority of the county legal bills to solicit their own specialized attorney while the rest of the county government hires a different firm.
“I was talking to Jill (Human Services Director Jill Bender) about when I was on human services (committee), I was thinking about this, that they should I think be able to host their own RFP (request for proposal), just for human services because that is where lions share of the funds end up going,” said Eggen.
Goede agreed with the strategy of finding specialized attorneys rather than a general practice lawyer for everything.
“It might make sense to get lawyers that are genuinely special expertise in the area that they are working in,” said Goede.
The committee ultimately agreed to draft a request for proposals to solicit bids from law firms to take over the county legal work before Swayne departs. They also agreed to ask the human services director and other department heads about their specific legal needs to help shape the request.
The lack of legal counsel in the room was felt throughout the meeting as the committee struggled to navigate the remaining agenda items. During a discussion on creating a policy to allow county employees to carry concealed weapons Human Resources Director Lepke asked the committee for guidance on whether a newly passed ordinance automatically exempted employees from the weapons ban or if a new policy was needed.
“That is why it would be great to have legal here right now,” said Lepke.
The committee also stumbled through discussions on how to draft local zoning ordinances to establish setbacks and regulations for massive data centers that are searching for rural land. They also briefly approved a motion to join neighboring Crawford County in seeking an initial consultation with a specialized attorney to fight the proposed Maribell high voltage transmission line.
The committee will meet again next month as they continue the process of working to replace their legal counsel and onboard a new administrative coordinator.
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