CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It will be several weeks before Dunbar Mayor Roger Wolfe knows if he's being kicked out of office.

Testimony ended Wednesday in a trial to have Wolfe removed from office. But three judges who are considering the case will look at more evidence before issuing a written ruling on whether Wolfe overstepped his authority as mayor and usurped city laws, and whether any infractions justify forcing him to give up his seat.

During two days of testimony in Kanawha Circuit Court, City Councilwoman Connie Boardman described how Wolfe repeatedly spent city money without the approval of the city council and in apparent violation of Dunbar's city charter. Wolfe unilaterally changed the pay of four department heads from salaried to hourly with overtime in defiance of the city council's desire to limit raises for the four, and wrote himself more than $10,000 in expense checks without the approval of the council.

On Wednesday, Boardman described how Wolfe decided to pay for partial insurance premiums for his personal secretary and city clerk despite the fact that they were on their spouses' insurance policies, and talked about how Wolfe bought an $8,000 truck from the city of South Charleston without getting approval from the city council and spent city money for charitable donations without approval.

In all three cases, council members didn't find out about the expenditures until after the fact, Boardman said.

Wolfe and members of the city council have been in an ongoing and bitter dispute over who has the power of the purse in Dunbar. In February, Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib ruled that the city council, not the mayor, is in charge of city finances, but the ruling has since been appealed to the state Supreme Court.

City attorney Herb Hively, Wolfe's sole defense witness, testified that he told the mayor it was all right to make most of the expenditures, even though he wasn't asked about them beforehand.

But Wood Circuit Judge J.D. Beane, Upshur Circuit Judge Thomas H. Keadle and Nicholas Circuit Judge Gary L. Johnson had problems with Wolfe spending money without the city council's approval. They asked Hively several times if the expenditures should have gone through the council.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It will be several weeks before Dunbar Mayor Roger Wolfe knows if he's being kicked out of office.

Testimony ended Wednesday in a trial to have Wolfe removed from office. But three judges who are considering the case will look at more evidence before issuing a written ruling on whether Wolfe overstepped his authority as mayor and usurped city laws, and whether any infractions justify forcing him to give up his seat.

During two days of testimony in Kanawha Circuit Court, City Councilwoman Connie Boardman described how Wolfe repeatedly spent city money without the approval of the city council and in apparent violation of Dunbar's city charter. Wolfe unilaterally changed the pay of four department heads from salaried to hourly with overtime in defiance of the city council's desire to limit raises for the four, and wrote himself more than $10,000 in expense checks without the approval of the council.

On Wednesday, Boardman described how Wolfe decided to pay for partial insurance premiums for his personal secretary and city clerk despite the fact that they were on their spouses' insurance policies, and talked about how Wolfe bought an $8,000 truck from the city of South Charleston without getting approval from the city council and spent city money for charitable donations without approval.

In all three cases, council members didn't find out about the expenditures until after the fact, Boardman said.

Wolfe and members of the city council have been in an ongoing and bitter dispute over who has the power of the purse in Dunbar. In February, Kanawha Circuit Judge Paul Zakaib ruled that the city council, not the mayor, is in charge of city finances, but the ruling has since been appealed to the state Supreme Court.

City attorney Herb Hively, Wolfe's sole defense witness, testified that he told the mayor it was all right to make most of the expenditures, even though he wasn't asked about them beforehand.

But Wood Circuit Judge J.D. Beane, Upshur Circuit Judge Thomas H. Keadle and Nicholas Circuit Judge Gary L. Johnson had problems with Wolfe spending money without the city council's approval. They asked Hively several times if the expenditures should have gone through the council.

Hively agreed that they probably should have. "I just assumed no one had a problem with it," he said at one point.

Mark Sadd, lawyer for the six city council members who asked that Wolfe be removed, said any one of the charges against Wolfe would be enough to remove him from office. Taken together, they show a blatant disregard of the city charter and usurping of the city council, he argued.

"For more than two years, the mayor has taken part in the systematic dismantling of the council's legislative powers," he said.

Lonnie Simmons, Wolfe's lawyer, doesn't dispute that Wolfe did what council members accuse him of doing. But he told the judges they would have to pore through a thick stack of legal documents and arguments before making a final decision.

Simmons is basing his defense partly on arguments that Hively told the mayor it was all right to spend money the way he did. But his main argument is that his actions don't meet the legal standards to have the mayor kicked out. Everything Wolfe did, Simmons said, "simply does not rise to the level that warrants removal from office."

The judges said they will wait for trial transcripts and further paperwork from the attorneys before making a ruling.

Reach Rusty Marks at rustyma...@wvgazette.com">rustyma...@wvgazette.com or 348-1215.