On August 18, 2026, the Eagle River Common Council voted on a citizen petition proposing new term limits for local politicians. The local organizers gathered signatures from at least 15 percent of voters. Because of this, the city was legally forced to act. The council had 30 days to either pass the proposed law exactly as written or send it to the voters.

The council voted unanimously to deny the proposed law. This step sent the measure directly to the November 3 general election ballot. Alderperson Dan Dumas made a brief statement. He noted that the petition organizers did a lot of work and stated that the voters should decide the issue.

The petition on the  November 3rd contains four specific rules for the Mayor and Alderpersons.

First, it sets an eight-year cap. This limits officials to four two-year terms in a row.

Second, it requires a six-year waiting period. Once an official serves eight years in a row, they cannot run for the same office for six years.

Third, it includes an anti-swapping rule. A termed-out Mayor cannot immediately run for an Alderperson seat. A termed-out Alderperson cannot immediately run for Mayor.

Finally, the law applies retroactively. It requires the city to count the terms an official served before the law was passed.

If voters approve the measure, the law will take effect right away. It will block any sitting politician with eight years of consecutive service from running in the spring 2027 municipal election.

$1.7 Million TIF Scandal and Records Disputes Spark Referendum

The citizen campaign to overhaul Eagle River’s government didn’t begin as an ideological debate over term limits. It began with a quiet, seven-figure fiscal reckoning: a $1.7 million drain on the city's general fund to paper over a decade of unlawful accounting.

Armed with Wisconsin open records requests, residents Kathryn and Jack Craffey spearheaded a grassroots audit of City Hall. 

The problem centered on the city's Tax Incremental Finance districts. A TIF district is a specific zone drawn on a city map. The state of Wisconsin labeled several of Eagle River's TIF districts as "severely distressed." Because of this label state law required that tax money from those districts, be spent in those district. 

Records showed that between 2012 and 2021, city officials took about $5 million out of those restricted TIF accounts. They used the cash to pay off general city debt and build projects all over town.

No one stole the cash, and no money went into private pockets. Instead, this was a decade long failure of basic municipal checks and balances:

1. City administration directed restricted funds to general projects.

2. Outside auditors repeatedly issued clean reviews without checking project maps.

3. The city council accepted those audits without asking basic questions.

The technical error turned into a political controversy when current leaders identified the problem internally in 2022 and 2023, but waited until October 2024 to present the findings to taxpayers without scheduling a dedicated public hearing. That delay turned an accounting failure into the main catalyst for the 2026 term limits referendum.

For a small town, a $1.7 million loss directly hits the taxpayer. That is money meant for basic services like road repairs and snowplowing.

  Officials blamed the accounting disaster on the old auditors. They stated the previous audit team gave the city clean reviews for years and completely failed to check the geographic boundaries.

Citizens also caught the city failing to post Zoom meeting videos for the public. They pointed to a 2022 room-tax commission vote that violated state open-meetings laws. City Administrator Robin Ginner later admitted to this violation and blamed her lack of experience at the time.

Between January 2025 and April 2026, the city received 73 public records requests. The Craffeys submitted 30 of them. The city council voted  in March 2026 to create a fee schedule to charge citizens for open records requests. City administrators complained the requests took up too much staff time. Citizens argued the fees were a tactic to discourage records requests.

The final straw for many voters was a fight over Riverside Park. The council wanted to chop up the public park and rezone the land to build 10 new waterfront homes. Officials wanted the extra tax revenue. Over 40 residents protested at a tense city meeting.

Following these events, the citizen group gathered enough signatures to force the term limits vote. 

City Council Points to Complex City Operations in Defense of Long Terms

"I've made this statement no less than five or six times; run, please!", Alderperson Jerry Burkett made this statement during an April 2026 council meeting. Burkett's comments highlighted a common complaint among city officials. They note that while residents will sign petitions, almost no one actually runs for local office. Burkett argued that scheduled elections are the only term limits the city needs.

City officials defend long terms by pointing out the daily grind of running the municipality. Mayor Deb Brown noted that 50 percent of the property in Eagle River is tax-exempt. This puts a larger financial burden on the remaining taxpayers and requires tight budgeting.

Incumbents argue that long-term service is necessary to understand technical city projects. In August, the council reviewed a zoning request for a $5 million U-Haul storage facility. Alderperson Vic Washelesky used his engineering background to review the plans. He found serious errors in the water drainage design that would have flooded a nearby road. The council denied the building permit based on his findings.

The council also handles complex contracts for basic services. Recent meetings required the council to approve a new IT system for the police department. Officials also negotiated long-term power supply contracts to secure the city's energy grid. In addition, they managed state contracts for wastewater sludge disposal on local farmland.

In April 2026, the council passed a new rule to create staggered terms. Previously, the entire council and the mayor were up for election at the exact same time. The new system alternates elections so only half the council is on the ballot each year.

Officials argue this staggered system provides voter oversight without wiping out all experienced leaders at once. They state that term limits could force the city to hand over complex daily operations to unelected staff and outside contractors.

Eagle River Council Sees Resignations Ahead of Term Limits Vote

If the referendum passes on November 3, this rule takes effect right away. It instantly disqualifies any sitting politician who has already served eight years in a row. Following the certification of the petition this summer, the Eagle River Common Council saw multiple sudden resignations.

Alderperson Jerry Burkett served on the council for 30 years. He resigned his city council seat on July 23, 2026. This happened exactly one day after the city attorney certified the term limits petition. His seat was filled by Dan Grosskopf. Because Grosskopf is a new appointee, the proposed term limits will not impact him.