This one-page exhibit comes from federal case 3:25-cv-00183-jdp. The court filing labels it Document 46-20, filed May 11, 2026. The document carries the Bates number CITY000748 and appears as Exhibit 520. It contains a letter from Mayor Jim Paine to Inv. Mikayla LeRette about a written grievance.
Paine says LeRette submitted the grievance to the city’s Human Resources Committee the previous week. He also says the Police Chief first stepped away from the grievance process. The chief cited a conflict tied to a spousal relationship between himself and LeRette.
The conflict did not end the chief’s role
Paine writes that he reviewed the contract and consulted senior administration members. He then told the chief that the conflict did not fully remove him from grievance duties. Paine directed the chief to name a subordinate to act for him. Paine also offered to take the matter himself if no officer could fairly handle it.
That passage deserves attention from taxpayers. A grievance involving police command, labor rights, and family conflict moved quickly into the mayor’s office. The letter presents this as an administrative solution. Yet it also shows how easily a sensitive personnel dispute can pass through informal power channels.
Paine invokes statutory authority
Paine states that he could accept responsibility because he serves as the statutory head of the police department under Wis. Stat. 62.09(8)(d). Wisconsin law describes the mayor as the city’s chief executive officer and requires the mayor to see that laws and ordinances get enforced.
The City of Superior’s own mayor page also describes the mayor as chief executive officer. It says the mayor must ensure officers and employees discharge their duties.
Next steps and deadline
Paine says Police Chief Paul Winterscheidt accepted his offer earlier that day. The City of Superior Police Department lists Winterscheidt as Police Chief.
Paine then says the contract required him to meet with LeRette and her union representative. After that discussion, he had three days to issue a written response and proposed remedies. He offered meeting times on Tuesday and Thursday, including after hours. He warned that, without a meeting, he would issue a written response within three days.
The document closes with a quiet but important fact: the mayor placed himself in the grievance chain.
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