City loses half of council members

INDEPENDENCE, Wis. (AP) - A community in Trempealeau (TREMP'-eh-loh) County is without a functioning City Council after losing half of its members.

Recently, one member of the council in Independence died and two others resigned. So the council couldn't come up with a quorum during its meeting this week.

One of the members who resigned says the city violated the open meetings law during a frack sand mine annexation. The nearby towns of Lincoln and Burnside are suing Independence for the recent annexation, which the state has said doesn't appear to follow the letter of the law

Mayor Rober Baecker tells Wisconsin Public Radio (http://bit.ly/17mPfjf ) that the city is exploring options to resolve the dispute.

As for the lack of quorum, Baecker says he was blindsided. He says the city attorney contacted the League of Wisconsin Municipalities for guidance.

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Information from: Wisconsin Public Radio, http://www.wpr.org