A minute before I was about to leave for the village of Kronenwetter offices Tuesday afternoon, I received an email from a source with some relevant information.
Jennifer Poyer, the village’s clerk, resigned Monday. Moreover, she said she’d filed a complaint Aug. 10 with the village against Administrator James Davel and Village President Dan Joling.
In her resignation letter, which she says is unrelated to the complaint, she describes the nature of the complaint as “regarding harassment, retaliation, confidentiality violations, unlawful exercise of authority over records custodian functions, procedural failures, and investigatory bias.”
Poyer’s resignation comes a day before the release of the village’s investigative report to The Wausonian related to allegations of workplace harassment by Davel. The report ultimately finds that the charges are unsubstantiated, and even if they were true, at most would have resulted in a verbal reprimand.
But the report also brought to light alleged behavior by then-Zoning Administrator Peter Wegner. Wegner was ultimately fired by the village board in April.
The report also brought to light what several employees, whose names were redacted, allege was a volatile relationship between Poyer and Wegner, causing them to be uncomfortable and in one instance reaching the point where the employee told investigators that they considered having the police chief walk through village hall because the situation was escalating.
The report also details alleged insults and threats directed at Davel. Davel told investigators he believed the allegation against him was retaliatory and arose as he was attempting to enforce workplace expectations and address Wegner's conduct.
But in a lengthy supplemental response, Poyer and others claimed all of it was a coordinated effort to get rid of Wegner, who had positive relations with board members opposed to a mining operation in the village. Poyer pointed to her own positive performance reviews which she included as a supplement, and though she did admit to the text messages that were included with the report as being volatile, she characterizes them as coming from someone impacted by medication issues related to health problems.
The Wausonian submitted its records request first and received the report early Tuesday afternoon. It’s lengthy, including hundreds pages, including the report, an appendix, and lengthy supplements to the records release from Poyer, Wegner and village board member Sandi Sorensen.
The Wausonian had hoped to get answers after the village board authorized an investigation into Davel’s comments. But mostly, the situation now appears even more complex than it did before.
Here is what we know.