Last week, at Common Council, the city heard a presentation from City Attorney McDonell on Wisconsin’s Open Meetings and Public Records Laws.
In the embeded video below, from 1:07:00 to 1:43:03, readers will see that presentation.
(Sadly, it starts off poorly, with a deprecating joke about the subject matter being boring. That’s false, of course: these laws aren’t boing. They’re vital to open and honest government. One simply has to believe and embrace these ideals with the enthusiasm they deserve.)
Common Council Meeting 08/06/2013 from Whitewater Community TV on Vimeo.
For those who would like to review the provisions of Wisconsin’s laws directly, the respective statutes for the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.81-19.98 and Wisconsin Public Records Law, Wis. Stat. §§ 19.31-19.39 are available online.
For a website with supplemental information about these laws, one may consult the site of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council.
(This spring, I had the pleasure to attending an awards ceremony honoring Lynn Adelman, now a federal judge, but years ago a state senator and principal author of Wisconsin’s Public Records Law.
By chance, I found myself sitting at Judge Adelman’s table that evening. I was one of many ordinary people attending, but the evening was an extraordinary pleasure: now in his seventies, Lynn Adelman is as sharp and clear in his commitment to open government as anyone in all Wisconsin.)