BID Director consults lawyer following request to inspect records: Will business owners have to pay Carl Templer's legal bills? SHOREWOOD, Wis. (July 14, 2004) -- Businesses have been questioning where more than $360,000 earmarked for marketing was spent, but Business Improvement District Director Carl Templer refused for 22 months to respond to businessman Tim Wick's request for documents. Now, in a new request, Templer says he is seeking legal advice before releasing records mandated by the state to be public. On July 2, we faxed a request to inspect public records to Templer in response to questions from local establishments concerned over the quality of service by Templer Communications, which has been paid about $35,000 a year to administer the program. On July 12, Templer responded that "Your request for records has been received and currently conversations with the respective boards and counsel are underway. Records are being researched. You will be advised as to next steps shortly. Thank you." Why must Templer consult an attorney and BID board? He is the custodian of the records and they are to be public regardless of what his lawyer says. Critics claim Templer is on the receiving end of a variety of benefits accruing to him personally through his involvement with the BID, which some businesses claim is a marketing platform for himself and his business at their expense. How long will he drag his feet this time, and who will pay his legal bills?
|
As Shorewood prepares to host a bicycle race,
business owners say the BID is spinning its wheels
|