The elected chief executives of three Lake Country municipalties agreed Tuesday night to explore the feasibility of sharing the costs of administering government and delivering services in their respective communities.

The elected leaders of the villages of Merton and Sussex and the Town of Lisbon said cost sharing may be one way the three municipalities can control costs while maintaining, or improving, the delivery of services.

They met in the conference room of the Village of Sussex Fire Department along with one elected member from each community's governing board to explore the possibility of sharing services and costs.

The group agreed to meet again in early October to discuss each communities proposed 2009 budget and whether costs for specific goods and services within those budgets can be shared.

For example, the municipalities may be able to reduce road maintenance costs by including all of their road repair projects on a single bid letting, according to Sussex Village President Tony Lapcinski.

Lapcinski said the municipalities should also explore sharing the purchase of supplies and equipment and possibly creating a health insurance consortium.

Lisbon Town Chairman Michael Reed added that the municipalities should also explore sharing financial, legal, planning, engineering and tax assessment consultants rather than the municipalities each hiring different contractors to provide the services.

Lisbon Town Supervisor  Joe Osterman added the municipalities could save money by sharing, rather than duplicating, the purchase and use of expensive fire, emergency medical, and public works equipment.

 Merton Village President Bob Weber said state and county authorities are expecting villages and towns to provide more services without giving the municipalities additional revenues to pay for the added services.

Merton Village Trustee Ron Reinowski added that constituents are expecting a higher level of service from the local governments but will not support tax increases to pay for them.

"If our three small communities do not cooperate and work together more, we are going to be in trouble in the future, we may not make it," Weber said.

The group appeared to rule out the three communities merging into a larger, single municipality or consolidating some of the municipal service departments.

Sussex Village Trustee Gregory Goetz said the committee would be wasting its time discussing merging the communities or "trying to close down a fire department, or getting everybody to work out of one public works garage, because they are not going to happen."

"We have to start by taking little steps," he said.

Town of Lisbon - A lawyer for the town says he is hopeful that an out of court settlement can be reached between the Town Board and former Police Chief Terry Maratarono who filed a law suit against the Town charging breach of contract and defamation of charector.

Andrew T. Phillips, who represents the Town and its insurance carrier Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance, said he expected to begin negotiations with Martorano's attorney this week.

It is common practice for judges in Waukesha County to require parties in civil suits to engage in mediation before the court rules on motions or scheduled cases for trial. The Town has filed a motion in Waukesha County Circuit Court to dismiss the case.

Phillips said he is confident the Town will prevail in a trial but he said Town Board members might be willing to settle out of court to avoid further expense and put an end to the controversy that has plaqued town government for nearly three years.

"These are newly elected board members who believe they have more important issues to discuss than what the former police chief did two yeas ago. But, on the other hand, they don't want to appear as if they are paying off the chief," he said.

Martorano filed the law suit after the Town Board voted in August of 2007 to eliminate the town police department and replace it with a police service contract with the Waukesha County Sheriff.

Martorano argues that according to the terms of his contract with the town he can only be dismissed for cause.

Martorano also alleges that town officials and former Police Sgt. Tom Alioto defamed him during a series of disputes between Mortorano, Alioto, and Town Board members.

Martorano was placed on paid administrative leave in 2006 after Alioto told board members that Martorano was working on part time security jobs during hours he was supposed to be on duty as the town's first full time police chief.

Martorano argued that his contract with the Town did not prohibit him from working part time or specifically define what hours he was supposed to be on duty. The board concluded Martorano was not adequately performing his duties and warned him that they would ask the police and fire commission to terminate him if his performance did not improve.

Town of Lisbon - Town Board members and Public Works Director Mike Mueller spent nearly two hours Monday night debating whether a highway worker/snow plow operator should be layed off in 2009 to make more money available for road repairs.

Supervisors questioned Mueller about details of the operations of his department and how the six full time employees, all of whom including Mueller operate snow plows, spend their working hours during the winter and summer months.

Supervisors Matt Gehrke and Joe Osterman argued that the town could cut about $60,000 from a $4 million annual budget by laying off one of the workers.

Osterman questioned whether there is enough work during the winter, other than snowplowing, to justify six full time employees.

Gehrke said the town has more full time public works employees than most other towns in Lake Country.

Mueller argued all of the public works department employees, in addition to two full time park department employees, must operate snowplows in order to have over night snow fall cleared by 6:30 a.m. for school buses and commuter traffic.

Gehrke and Osterman said they calculated that it would take 40 additional minutes to complete the first round of snow plowing in the town if one of the highway workers was laid off.

Town Chairman Michael Reed says he wants to increase spending on road repairs in the town by about $400,000. However, Reed and other town boards members have also said they want a 2009 budget that does not increase the town's tax rate.

Supervisor Dan Fischer urged Mueller to "think out of the box" about how he could cut spending in the department without laying off an employee. Otherwise, Fischer suggested, a lay off may be necessary if the town is going to spend more money on road repairs without increasing taxes.

Fischer said he believed town residents believed snow clearance was more important than road repairs. 

Town of Lisbon - Former Police Sgt. Gaetano "Tom" Alioto has charged town officials with harassment, whistle blowing retaliation, conspiracy, discrimination, and defamation in a Waukesha County Circuit Court law suit stemming from Alioto's feuds with former Police Chief Terry Martorano.

The law suit seeks unspecified damages although in a notice filed with the town in April  Alioto's lawyer said he would seek $5 million in damages for injury to Alioto's reputation and loss of past and future wages.

The law suit filed last week details a series of events between April 2006 and December 2007 when Martorano and other town officials allegedly harassed Alioto and leveled false charges against him with the Waukesha County District Attorney's office.

Alioto accussed Martorano of retaliating against him because in April of 2006 Alioto told Town Board members that Martorano was working on part time security jobs during the same hours he was collecting wages as the Town's first full time police chief.

As a result of Alioto's accusations, the Town Board launched an investigation into Martorano's conduct.

Following the investigation, Martorano leveled charges against Alioto and some Town Board members with former Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher.

One Town Board member resigned in the wake of Bucher's investigation. The four other board members were defeated in elections in 2007 and 2008.

A Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge exonerated Alioto of the felony misconduct filed against him by a special prosecutor who was appointed after Bucher left office.

Town of Lisbon - A registered sex offender, convicted as a teenager for having sexual contact with a 15-year-old girl, has moved out of the Town of Lisbon and back to the City of Waukesha as of this morning, according to Waukesha Sherrif's Department Capt. Karen Ruff.

Gary L. Galubinski, 29, recently moved to N55 W27371 Lisbon Road in an effort to reconcile with his former wife, but the landlord decided he did not want him living there anymore, said Capt. Ruff.

Galubinski has lived in Waukesha since October 2005, and will move back to his previous address, Capt. Ruff said.   

He had just turned 19 when he was convicted in June 1998 of second-degree sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl, according to court records. The notice said Galubinski had kissed the girl and touched her breasts, both over and under her clothing, while visiting her at her home while her parents were out of town.

Galubinski had also been judged in juvenile court for having sexual contact with a 13-year-old male household member.

Galubinski is prohibited from unsupervised contact with minors, other than his own children, unless approved by the Department of Corrections. He is also prohibited from having contact with his victims and cannot frequent bars, taverns or liquor stores, or consume alcohol or illegal drugs. 

Town of Lisbon - Residents and business owners are being advised to remove yard signs advertising goods and services or promoting rummage sales from the public right of way along town roads and at intersections of town roads and state or county highways.

Town Chairman Michael Reed said Thursday that he expects town highway workers to periodically to remove signs that are illegally located within the public right of way at the intersections and along town roads.

State laws and local codes prohibit the location of signs in public right of way along state, county and town roads.

Reed said that proliferation of the signs along the roads and intersections is unsightly and detracts from the appearance and image of the Town.

Town of Lisbon - Town Chairman Michael Reed says he is considering appointing former Supervisor Wendy Landry to a newly created committee to study whether the town should seek incorporation as a village.

Reed said he will ask forTown Board approval in May to create the committee. Reed wants the committee to review the recommendations of the so called "visioning committee" which worked last summer with a consultant to develop governance alternatives for the town.

The committee recommended that the town enter into new, and improve existing, border agreements with surrounding communities and consider incorporation as part of the town's long term land use plan.

The committee suggested incorporating into a village might help the town preserve its tax base and boundaries.

Reed said he wanted Landry to serve on the new committee because she is familar with issues related to incorporation and was a member of the visioning committee.

Landry, who was defeated for reelection in 2007, made an unsuccessful bid to be appointed by the Town Board earlier this week to fill a vacancy created by the resignation in February of former Supervisor James Stadley, who was convicted of a felony related to a domestic abuse incident involving him, his wife and child.

Town of Lisbon - Plan Commission member Joe Osterman was elected earlier this week by town supervisors to fill the Town Board vacancy created by the resignation earlier this year of former Supervisor James Stadler.

Stadler resigned in February shortly after he was convicted of a felony related to a domestic abuse incident involving him, his wife and child.

Osterman, 28, was described by Supervisor Matt Gehrke as the least controversial of five candidates seeking the post. Osterman also serves on the Public Safety Committee and has made two unsuccessful bids for election to the Town Board.

Town Chairman Michael Reed and newly elected Supervisors Dan Fischer and Ron Esser voted for Osterman during a special board meeting Monday night.

Gehrke voted for volunter fire fighter Daniel Heier and Town Clerk-Administrator Jeff Musche voted for former Supervisor Robert Williams.

Two candidates - Williams and Wendry Landry - were former board members who were defeated in reelection bids in 2007 and 2008.

Another candidate, Jean Tackes, is a member of a citizens group trying to recall Reed.

Some supervisors questioned whether Heier, if appointed to the Town Board, would have a conflict of interest when voting on a department budget from which he is paid or on other issues involving the department.

Heier said he would consider resigning from the department if he were elected by the supervisors to the Town Board.

Town of Lisbon - Town officials have announced an Open House at the newly constructed Richard M. Jung Fire Station at Highways K and KF scheduled for Saturday May 3 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Various fire and emergency service agencies from surrounding communities have been invited to participate in the public opening of the fire station. The Fire Department auxiliary is providing food and refreshments.

Town of Lisbon - Town Board Chairman Michael Reed has asked Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel to issue an opinion whether the Town Board violated the state's open meetings law last month when it discussed in closed session revisions in individual contracts for the Town Administrator, Director of Public Works and Assistant Public Works Director.

In a April 14 letter to Schimel, Reed said he questioned whether the action taken by the board was properly included on the agenda for the March 24 meeting. Following the closed session, the board voted 3 to 1 to approve the contract changes.

Reed initially objected to the closed session but participated in the closed door discussion and cast the dissenting vote in a public session to approve the contracts.

Reed said he was seeking the opinon because he and members of the media had raised concerns about whether the Town Board was following proper procedures.

Schimel said Monday that he has reviewed the more than 20 pages of documents submitted to him by Reed.

"After reviewing the documents, I have a number of questions that need to be answered before I determine how to proceed," Schimel said.

Schimel said he make a decision on how to proceed as soon as possible.

Town of Lisbon - Voters at an Annual Town Meeting Tuesday night urged Town officials to "prepare to pursue the incorporation process" in an effort to protect the community's tax base and borders and provide autonomy in land use decisions.

The voters also asked Town officials to prepare a comprehensive land use plan and make other land use decisions "with the goal of incorporation in mind."

Some residents and Town Board members voted against the motions arguing that the Town Board already has the authority to consider incorporation. The town is also in the process of drafting a new zoning code and has been in negotiations for new and stronger border agreements with some of its neighboring communities.

Town Chairman Michael Reed said he anticipates there will be public information meetings later this year to consider future town governance alternatives.

The series of advisory motions appeared to ratify a draft recommendation offered last summer by a citizens group that suggested town officials should seek more and stronger border agreements with neighboring communities and consider incorporation as a village or city as a long term goal.

Proponents of incorporation have argued it is the only alternative that protects the towns' borders from being annexed by neighboring cities and villages and allows the Town to make land use decisions that are not subject to review by Waukesha county officials.

Town of Lisbon - Former police Sgt. Gaetano "Tom" Alioto has notifed town officials that he intends to seek five million dollars in damages from the town.

Alioto's lawyer alleges that former Police Chief Terry Martorano and other town officials violated Alioto's civil rights, harrassed him, and leveled unfounded criminal charges against him.

Alioto is seeking damages for  violation of his civil rights, injury to his reputation, loss of past wages, and loss of future earning capacity.

Town Chairman Michael Reed said the Notice of Claims was served to Clerk-Administrator Jeff Musche Friday afternoon.

The 12 page document details a series of events between April 2006 and December 2007 when Martorano and other town officials allegedly harassed Alioto and leveled false charges against him with the Waukesha County District Attorney's office.

Alioto says Martorano was retaliating against him because in April of 2006 he told Town Board members that Martorano was working two part time security jobs during the same hours he was collecting wages as the town's first full time police chief. 

According to the document, Alioto was told by Supervisor Ron Fricke that Alioto was going to be "the fall guy" in an attempt by the Town Board to do "damage control" and avoid litigation from Martorano.

Fricke told Alioto that the Town Board got "poor legal advice" when it suspended Martorano with pay while conducting an investigation into Alioto's allegations agianst the chief, according to the notice. 

Fricke denied the conversation took place. 

"I don't know what he is talking about," Fricke added. 

All supervisors, including Fricke, who were on the Town Board during the incidents involving the police department were defeated in primary and general elections in 2007 and 2008.

 The town police department was eventually abolished and replaced by a police service contract with the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.

Town of Lisbon - Town Clerk-Administrator Jeff Musche told town officials Wednesday that a town resident owning a $300,000 home might have to pay about $1,200 over five years - about $240 per year - if the Town Board proposed, and voters approved, a $4 million road repair referendum.

Supervisors Robert Williams and Ron Fricke, both defeated in the April 1 town election, have suggested that borrowing enough money to complete road repairs in one year may be the most cost effective way of paying for a estimated 20 miles in road repair that Town engineers say are necessary.

They suggested the loan might be paid off over five years.

Supervisor Matthew Gehrke said he is opposed to borrowing the money and would not support a referendum unless he was convinced there was no other alternative.

Town Chairman Michael Reed emphasized that borrowing the money is one of several alternatives town officials may review. Reed acknowledged there was little chance of a referendum passing unless town voters were convinced the road repairs were necessary and borrowing the money was the most cost effective way to fix the roads. 

Town of Lisbon - The Plan Commission voted 5 to 2 Thursday to recommend that the Town Board implement a moratorium on new residential and commercial developments for six months or until a new zoning code is adopted by town officials.

Commission Chairman Michael Reed said he supported the proposal by Supervisor Matthew Gehrke, also a member of the commission. 

Gehrke said that without the moratorium town officials had no choice but to approve residential and commercial projects that might not be in compliance with proposed new zoning regulations.

Gehrke and Reed suggested it could take as long as a year for the proposed new code be approved by Waukesha County, reviewed by neighboring communities with which the Town has border agreements, and then approved by the plan commission and town board.

The moratorium will not apply to any development and land use proposal presented to the commission within the past 12 months. The commission and Town Board will review the moratorium after six months and, if necessary, consider extending it, according to Gehrke.

Commissioners Jane Stadler and Denise Wenger voted against the moratorium. Stadler argued the plan commission could control development without rely on a moratorium and Wenger argued the moratorium was an unnecessary infringement on individual property rights.

Town of Lisbon - William Swift, one of the leaders of an effort to recall Town Chairman Michael Reed, said he intends to file documents required for the recall effort tomorrow with Town Clerk Jeff Musche.

The citizens group seeking the recall will have 60 days to collect the required number of signatures calling for an election that will be held later this summer.

The recall effort was launched by Swift and Supervisor Ron Fricke after Reed persuaded a majority of the Town Board to abolish the town's police department and replace it with contractual services provided by the Waukesha County Sheriff's office.

Swift and Fricke have also said that Reed lacked the leadership abilities, and has failed to establish the working relationship with the Town Board, necessary to serve as an effective chairman. 

Town of Lisbon - Town Clerk-Administrator Jeff Musche predicted about a 25 percent turnout for the April 1 Town election, about 15 percent lower than the number of voters who participated in the primary elections in February.

The nearly 40 percent primary election turn out was boosted by a large number of voters who cast ballots in the contested partisan presidential primary election contests as well as town elections, according to Musche.

Included on Tuesday's ballot are contests for two town supervisor seats. Dan Fischer is challenging incumbent Ron Fricke and incumbent Robert Willians is being challenged by Ron Esser.

Town Chairman Michael Reed's wife, Valerie Linton-Reed, has formed a citizens group that is supporting Esser and Fischer.