Giles Could Learn Fate Of Ethics Board Reversal As Soon As Thursday

We could know as soon as Thursday (9/16/21) afternoon whether or not a Winnebago County Circuit Court judge will approve the reversal of the City of Fond du Lac Ethics Board ruling against Ben Giles.

Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Daniel Bissett is set to reconvene all parties Thursday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. in Fond du Lac.

Judge Tricia Walker was originally set to review the case but recused herself back on April 23 so as to avoid any appearance of impropriety, due to the fact that the chairman of the Ethics Board at the time, Paul Csizny, is now a Circuit Court Judge.

Giles filed the civil suit against the City of Fond du Lac back on March 1, asking for a reversal, based on judicial review, of the findings the City of Fond du Lac Ethics Board made back in February.

Giles claims the decision made by the board negatively affected him. The Ethics Board made the decision that Giles violated one of the sections of the city’s Code of Ethics, and specifically one of the sections of the city of Fond du Lac’s Code of Ethics regarding dedicated service. At issue was Giles seeking outside legal input on whether he needed to recuse himself from voting on matters involving the Alternative Master Plan for Lakeside Park.

The Ethics Board has had to rule on two verified ethics complaints in the past few months, one involving current Councilmember Patrick Mullen and one just last week involving another council person. The board found in both cases there was no probable cause for the complaints.