MIDDLETON, Wis. -- Another Wisconsin community is moving a step closer to passing a smoking ban.

Middleton currently allows smoking at places, but on Tuesday night, the city council took input from the public about the issue of potentially going smoking free, WISC-TV reported.

The council then voted unanimously to have its city attorney draft a no-smoking ordinance as the first step.

Some local tavern owners said that they'd prefer a statewide ban.

In related news, Marshfield voters overwhelmingly passed a referendum on Tuesday banning indoor smoking in public places, including bars and taverns.

The ordinance, set to become law within 30 days, passed by nearly 4,200 votes to 2,500 yesterday.

Marshfield is the sixth Wisconsin community to prohibit public smoking. It now joins Madison, Appleton, Eau Claire, the Milwaukee suburb of Shorewood and the Madison suburb of Shorewood Hills. Eau Claire's ban takes effect in July.

Supporters of the smoking ban in Marshfield say the vote sends a clear message.

Breathe Free Marshfield president Dave Wille said that he hopes state legislators realize constituents want these bans.

But critics like Tom Cooper, president of Be Fair Marshfield, said that these moves are a step toward a quote "socialist-run state."