DE PERE — In a 7-0 vote, the De Pere Common Council became the 179th unit of government in the state of Wisconsin to support a constitutional amendment overturning Citizens United.
That’s the 2010 Supreme Court ruling that undid campaign finance laws and gave the wealthy and corporations carte blanche to give unlimited money to politicians as long as it goes through a third-party organization like a political action committee (PAC).
It says corporations are people and money is speech whose First Amendment rights can’t be limited.
De Pere’s Resolution No. 25-26 states that De Pere stands with communities around the country in proclaiming that human beings — “not corporations, unions, nonprofits or other artificial entities” — are people and endowed with constitutional rights.
It also says money is not speech, and “therefore limiting political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting speech.”
“Includ(ing) corporations in the term ‘persons’ has long denied We the People’s exercise of self-governance by endowing corporations with constitutional protections intended by the framers for only We the People,” the resolution says.
It’s part of an effort that’s been going on for over a decade to get an amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed that would undo the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The first communities in the state to pass the resolution were Madison in 2011 and West Allis in 2012.
Since then, 178 other municipalities in the state and 840 in the country have done likewise, with 22 states calling for a constitutional amendment.
Some used ballot referendums while others like De Pere took a board vote.
The City of Green Bay signed on in 2014 via referendum with 77% approval.
Also putting the measure to referendum in 2014 were Appleton (74% approval), Neenah (79% approval), Menasha (80% approval), Ripon (79% approval) and Wausau (77% approval).
“There is overwhelming non-partisan support for this resolution,” De Pere resident Janet Vraney said. “Prior to the shared revenue bill that was passed in 2023, most of the communities voted on the resolution with a ballot referendum.” The average yes votes of all of the communities in Wisconsin where citizens voted via ballot referendum was 81% approval, she said.
Alderperson Dan Carpenter asked what took De Pere so long and why now, given the effort began 15 years ago.
He asked if it was political.
Mayor James Boyd said he reached out to several mayors in the state and didn’t get the impression it was based in partisan politics.
“I understand how it could be perceived as such,” he said.
He said during his time as mayor, this was the first time the measure had been put before the Common Council.
It takes a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress to amend the constitution, or two-thirds of state legislatures, after which the states can ask Congress to convene a convention.
Two alders, Carpenter and Devin Perock, abstained from voting.
In other business, the board voted to waive public works service and police fees for a June event hosted by Definitely De Pere.
This year’s Tour De Pere bike races will be two days instead of one, Sunday and Monday, June 22-23. Fees were expected to total $6,762, according to Tina Quigley, executive director of Definitely De Pere.
The races are expected to draw about 500 professional and amateur racers from more than 40 states and 15 countries, Quigley said.
In 2024 for a one-day Tour De Pere, city fees totaled $1,881, and Quigley said she expects a two-day event to double the amount.
DPW services include road closures and detours required for the event.
Extra help for fire, police
The board voted unanimously to allow the fire and police departments to hire one additional person each to alleviate the overtime burden placed on the rest of their staff during the second half of the year, when people tend to take vacations.
Hiring an extra fire department employee from July to December is expected to cost the fire department $53,000, but it’s estimated it will save more than $28,000 in overtime costs, according to Fire Chief Alan Matzke.
Absences from injury, vacation and FMLA leave — especially during the summertime — lead the department to fall below operational levels, according to Matzke.
It creates a hardship that’s reflected in the monthly overtime report, Matzke said.
“In the past four years, this category has increased almost 100% with a four-year annual average of 2,845 hours, which is equivalent to one full-time employee,” he said. “This trend will continue.”
Police Chief Jeremy Muraski said that although the common council enabled the police department to hire an extra officer per year over the last two years, the police department still isn’t staffed fully, due to two vacancies, which they’re now trying to fill.
“We have one immediate vacancy, one vacancy expected with a pending retirement in April, and are anticipating at least one additional vacancy in the next 6-12 months,” Muraski said in a letter to the Common Council. “In the unlikely event we would not have a vacancy during all of 2026, the over-hire position would cost approximately $114,000 if we were one over our designated allotment for the entire year.”
The board voted to award a contract for $458,490 to Sommers Construction Co., Inc. for concrete street repairs.
The project involves colored concrete sealing and concrete street rehabilitation on Profit Place, Destiny Drive and American Boulevard, and spot concrete street repairs throughout the city. The city received bids from three other companies, ranging from $514,870 to $675,688.
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