By Hub City Times staff

MARSHFIELD – The home addresses of Marshfield aldermen will no longer appear on the city’s website directory or in other publications. With Alderman Pete Hendler absent, the Marshfield Common Council voted 5-4 last night in favor of removing them from those sources.

Alderman Ed Wagner was one of those council members voting against the move.

“In my experience, your friendly local neighborhood alderman is important, and they need to know that you share their concerns too,” he said. “I have people pull up at my house and knock on the door. They need to know that you are part of the community too. They need to know that we are one of them; that we are representing them. I feel that removing the address from the directory would be a bad thing.”

Aldermen Mike Feirer, Nick Poeschel, and Quentin Rosandich joined Wagner in voting “no.”

City Attorney Harold Wolfgram told the council that displaying addresses of aldermen on the city’s website or any municipal publication is discretionary, but that information must be released upon request.

City Administrator Steve Barg said some cities provide the home addresses of their council members, and some do not.

“I did a random survey of 10 cities and villages around us,” Barg said. “Six of them do have the addresses of elected officials on the websites; four of them don’t. In our area, most closely, Wausau, Plover, and Weston do; Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids do not.

“Rebecca Spiros raised the issue, but I learned shortly thereafter that it was shared by at least two other council members.  The concern is, at least in part, safety, and privacy.”

Letters to aldermen can still be sent to city hall, and their addresses will be available upon request.