These last several years in Wisconsin have seen a politics of corporate manipulation of public spending and a retreat from principles of open government. Businesses and business lobbying groups routinely expect public money for business projects that should be wholly private. (Scheming development gurus often refer to taxpayer money as their ‘tools,’ as though the…
Open Government
Law, Open Government, Wisconsin
Brad Schimel Brings Trumpism to the Wisconsin Department of Justice
by JOHN ADAMS •
Daniel Bice reports that Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel is now demanding non-disclosure agreements from employees of the Wisconsin Department of Justice: On Aug. 10, staffers at his agency were sent an email instructing them to sign a nondisclosure agreement barring them from revealing any confidential information about their work — not just during their time in office but even after…
City, Local Government, Open Government
Video of the Whitewater Common Council Session of 8.21.18
by JOHN ADAMS •
Business, CDA, City, Local Government, Open Government, Public Records 2
Public Records Request of 6.26.18 (Grocery)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday’s post addressed open government aspects of an unrecorded council meeting. See Public Records Request of 6.26.18 (Open Government). This post will consider a slide presentation from the unrecorded Whitewater Community Development Authority presentation of 6.19.18 on grocery store recruitment. Embedded immediately below is that slide presentation, and a link to the 5.19.16 Perkins supermarket…
CDA, Local Government, Open Government, Public Records 2
Public Records Request of 6.26.18 (Open Government)
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Whitewater Common Council agenda packet of 6.19.18 promised a “report and update on grocery store recruitment,” but that session was only partially recorded, with no video or audio record of the grocery presentation. In response, I submitted a public records request of 6.26.18, about three topics: 1. Any audio or video recording of the…
City, Law, Open Government, Public Records 2
Public Records Request of 6.26.18
by JOHN ADAMS •
Here’s a brief post to describe a public records request that I submitted to the City of Whitewater and Whitewater Community Development Authority on 6.26.18. The request – in summary – comprised three items: 1. Any audio or video recording of the 6.19.18 Common Council session, including a recording of only part of the full…
Newspapers, Open Government, Public Meetings
A Simple Truth About Open Government
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written recently about importance of open government, for itself and for its positive effects, but a simple truth about open government is that it requires a consistent policy of openness. Open sometimes, closed others, isn’t open government: it’s caprice. I’ve a draft of a series open government in progress, and in cases where openness…
City, Hip & Prosperous, Local Government, Open Government, Politics, School District
‘Stable and yet it cannot stand still’
by JOHN ADAMS •
Jurist Roscoe Pound once famously observed that “the law must remain stable yet it cannot stand still.” What is true of the law is true of communities – including Whitewater. Among some (but not all) of the few who have held sway in this town for the last generation, changes are unwelcome, and change itself…
City, Local Government, Open Government, School District
A Bit More on Examples
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve written about Milton as a bad example for Whitewater, and I’ve written about Jefferson this way, too. See Sunshine Week 2018 (The Bad Example Nearby), Attack of the Dirty Dogs, and Thanks, City of Jefferson!. The Milton-related post prompted two readers to ask about my connections to that troubled school district’s politics. I’ve replied to…
City, Local Government, Open Government, Public Meetings, Public Records, School District
Sunshine Week 2018 (A Methodical Approach)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Writing about a topic is a deliberate, often slow, process. Something happens – perhaps of concern – but one may not address it immediately. A bit of waiting can be a sound response. Along the way, an original perspective may change, and a project grow larger (or smaller). See Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal.…
City, Local Government, Open Government, Public Meetings, Public Records
Sunshine Week 2018 (City, District, and State)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Local readers may have heard, as I have heard, that area officials know that there are ways around municipal ordinances and school district policies on open government. There’s no surprise in hearing this: there is no human construct that cannot be circumvented; there are few professing a public interest who do not simultaneously feel the…
City, Local Government, Open Government, School District
Sunshine Week 2018 (Some Years Ago, in Whitewater)
by JOHN ADAMS •
In 2010, the City of Whitewater considered an ordinance to publish video recordings of principal public meetings. The first reading of the proposal was in August, and a second reading led to its approval in September. One may find the ordinance at Whitewater, Wisconsin, Municipal Code, Chapter 2.62 (Whitewater Transparency Enhancement Ordinance). This ordinance did not…
Law, Open Government, Public Meetings
Sunshine Week 2018 (The Bad Example Nearby)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Just as one would prefer a beautiful neighborhood, so too would a sensible person prefer that nearby towns were well-ordered and successful. And yet, and yet, one cannot choose for those other towns: they will choose for themselves, sometimes well, sometimes poorly. When they do choose poorly, the best one can do is to guard…
Freedom of Speech, Open Government
Sunshine Week 2018 (Introduction)
by JOHN ADAMS •
March 11 to 17 is Sunshine Week in America, an ‘annual nationwide celebration of access to public information and what it means for you and your community.’ If the country, then the state, if the state, then the city, if the city, then Whitewater. So here we are. Although Sunshine Week is seven days, open…