The city has hired a private investigator to look into concerns raised about the Wausau Community Development Authority and the city’s Community Development Department.

The person conducting the investigation has no ties to city government, said City Attorney Bill Nagle, who serves as Wausau’s human resources director. Nagle declined to provide the name of the individual or to specify what aspects of the two agencies are under review.

Mike Morrissey, the director in charge of both agencies, was placed on paid leave March 25 after being named in a discrimination complaint filed by former CDA employee Wendy Jasurda.

Morrissey fired Jasurda on Aug. 24 for allegedly misusing her CDA credit card, according to court records. She is scheduled to appear in court Monday on a charge of misdemeanor theft.

Jasurda’s complaint, filed March 14 with the state Department of Workforce Development, includes an allegation of a personal relationship between Morrissey and Kristen Fish, assistant community development director.

Fish said Monday she will be leaving the department after April 22 to take a job with a local manufacturer. She announced her resignation in a letter to Mayor Jim Tipple dated April 8.

“This opportunity came to me, and it was an excellent opportunity and I couldn’t pass it up,” she said.

Fish joined the department as business development director in April 2001 and was promoted to her current position in August 2006. After her departure, she said, all community development business will go through the mayor’s office, with Tipple having replaced Morrissey on an interim basis.

“If he’s the acting director, he will be receiving and distributing the work,” Fish said. “I will be available to assist the mayor if he has any questions about ongoing projects or if he needs advice.”

Tipple has said he placed Morrissey on leave for “many reasons” but has declined to be more specific. He first asked Marathon County officials to investigate the department, but County Administrator Mort McBain turned down Tipple’s request.

In her complaint, Jasurda contends that though she was immediately fired for misuse of public property, Morrissey wasn’t disciplined after being personally reimbursed for a work-related trip charged to a CDA credit card. In addition, the complaint alleges Morrissey and Fish misused city property by excessively using city-issued cell phones for personal use.