Know the rules

This latest April election didn’t produce any major shifts in control over local councils and boards, but it did introduce a few new faces.

In the city of Abbotsford, Ward 1 write-in candidate Sarah Diedrich took over for former Ald. Frankie Soto, and on the Abbotsford School Board, another write-in, Sharon Archambo took an empty spot. In the city of Colby, Ward 1 will have a new representative, Jason Lindeman, who replaces longtime Ald. Mark Kaiser, who did not run reelection. The town of Holton, meanwhile, has a new chairman, Dennis Venzke, and a new clerk, Taylor Ensign.

We have some advice for our newly elected representatives: make sure to educate yourself on the state of Wisconsin’s open meetings law. In the past, just about every one of the boards and councils in our coverage area has played fast and loose with the meeting rules at certain times. The key thing to remember is that government transparency is the foundation of the law, and we fully expect all of our council people and board members to abide by that principle.

Elected officials, or anyone else for that matter, can find most of what they need to know about this topic by simply Googling “Wisconsin Open Meetings Law Compliance Guide.” The document, produced by the office of the Wisconsin attorney general, delves into some of the more important rules that public officials need to follow, including those on avoiding walking quorums and when closed sessions are justified. It’s not something you need to read all at once, but it should really be bookmarked on the web browser of every elected official.

The Tribune-Phonograph editorial board consists of publisher Kris O’Leary and editor Kevin O’Brien