Assigning trouble: Council members signal early discord with Diny administration over committee assignments

City Council President Lisa Rasmussen, right, and other city council members at the swearing-in ceremony at city hall last month.

City Council member Tom Neal recently penned a letter to the editor highlighting what he saw as a troubling start to the Doug Diny administration: The committee assignments didn’t make much sense.

Neal put out those comments publicly, but he’s far from alone in feeling that way. The Wausonian spoke to several people who are upset about the way committee assignments have been handled.

That presents a potential early challenge: Diny came into office with a bold set of goals: In the first 100 days, fixing the roads, changing the business climate and tackling rising debt, water bills and taxes. (The link in this paragraph includes more, plus full video of our interview.)

But a mayor’s ability to accomplish what he or she wants has a lot to do with the relationship he or she has with the city council. A sour relationship can hamper efforts to get things done.

And in conversations with multiple city council members, many of whom specifically reached out to The Wausonian to air their concerns, that relationship may be off to a rocky start.