A Brown County lawsuit challenging the merger was dismissed after the plaintiff reached a stipulation allowing him to pursue annexation of his property into De Pere, removing a legal obstacle to Greenleaf absorbing most of Rockland.
Howard Frankenthal dropped his lawsuit challenging the Rockland-Greenleaf consolidation after officials agreed not to oppose his plan to annex his property into De Pere.
Frankenthal argued the merger improperly used intergovernmental cooperation rules to avoid mandatory consolidation procedures, including board votes and state reviews.
A Brown County judge approved the stipulation on Sept. 16 and reversed a temporary injunction that had been blocking the merger.
# What happened
The planned merger of the Town of Rockland into the Village of Greenleaf can move forward after a lawsuit brought by Rockland landowner Howard Frankenthal was dropped. Frankenthal filed the suit alleging the consolidation process violated state law. On Sept. 16, Brown County Judge Samantha Wagner approved a stipulation dismissing the case. A temporary injunction that had paused the merger was reversed the same day.
# Why the lawsuit mattered
Frankenthal's complaint said the boards for Rockland and Greenleaf tried to accomplish a consolidation by using Wisconsin's intergovernmental cooperation rules rather than following the state's formal consolidation procedures. Under consolidation law, a merger requires a two-thirds vote by each governing body, a legal review by the circuit court, and a public-interest review by the Department of Administration. Frankenthal argued those steps were bypassed.
He also alleged procedural defects around public notice, saying Greenleaf failed to provide the required 20-day notice before an Aug. 10 public hearing and that officials acted to approve the agreement before holding the hearing.
# How officials responded in court
Frankenthal's filings were submitted to the Brown County Courthouse on Sept. 10 by attorney George Burnett of Conway, Olejniczak & Jerry. In response, Rockland's attorney Andrew Rossmeissl of Herrling Clark filed on Sept. 11, arguing Frankenthal didn't show the intergovernmental agreement was in effect a consolidation. Rossmeissl also argued courts lack authority to preemptively stop a legislative action in this context.
# The stipulation and the annexation trade
The stipulation notes that Frankenthal and officials still maintain their original legal positions filed earlier in the month, but they agreed to drop the litigation under the terms the court approved.
# Practical effect
# Who to watch next
Key parties include Howard Frankenthal and his counsel, Rockland and Greenleaf officials and their counsel, and De Pere officials if the annexation effort proceeds. The Department of Administration and any future circuit court filings would become relevant again only if new legal challenges arise or if annexation steps trigger further procedural review.
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