When Is Public Comment Taken In Wauwatosa?

Press release from the City of Wauwatosa:

July 14, 2020

Elected bodies, such as the Common Council, do not make policy decisions in a vacuum. They consider comments from members of the public, best practices in local government, information and recommendations from city staff, and more. All of this information is an important aspect to governing a city, including hearing from the public.

Public comment or a communication to a committee, commission, or the Common Council happens in different ways and the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law speaks to the public’s access to government information. The open meetings law does not require that members of the public actively participate in a Council or Committee meeting. It does give the public the right to observe open meetings.

In Wauwatosa, the governing body goes beyond this minimum requirement and takes in-person public comment at Standing Council Committee meetings. These committees are:

• Transportation Affairs Committee
• Community Affairs Committee
• Financial Affairs Committee
• Government Affairs Committee

Each committee is charged with discussing in detail different aspects of Wauwatosa’s city government, is comprised of members of the Wauwatosa Common Council, and makes recommendations to the Common Council, where they could be adopted as suggested, modified, or rejected. Items for discussion are put on the agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting, discussed at a Committee, and then forwarded to the Council for a final decision.

In-person public comment is not taken at the Common Council unless there is a properly noticed public hearing scheduled. Members of the public who wish to express their opinion on an agenda item to the full Common Council are encouraged to do so in writing by sending an email to dl-CityClerkCityHall@wauwatosa.net. These emails are included in the meeting packet and members of the Common Council have the opportunity to read them in advance of the meeting.

How does COVID-19 impact public attendance and comment?

Wauwatosa, as well as other suburban Milwaukee County municipalities, are operating under Phase C of COVID-19 health guidelines. These guidelines state that public meetings should have 50 people maximum while maintaining physical distancing and protective measures. A number of meetings have been held in-person that have not followed these public health guidelines, which are important to protect the health of all participants in the meeting.

There will be a special Common Council meeting held on Tuesday, July 14 without in-person participation by any member of the governing body – this meeting will be held entirely on Zoom at the request of Mayor McBride. The sole agenda item for this meeting is discussion of potential litigation and associated litigation strategies related to the Wauwatosa Police Department. This item is appropriately marked for a closed session of the Common Council, as permitted under Wisconsin State Law. In a closed session meeting, only the members of the Common Council are present and their associated staff or legal advisors. This does not preclude the public from participating in meetings. Meetings can be viewed online and for meetings with public comment, comment can and will be appropriately taken over the Zoom platform and by telephone. The public may also send written comment to be included in the packet for any meeting to DL-CityHallCityClerk@wauwatosa.net. As previously explained, there is no public comment at a Common Council meeting.

Why is there not public comment during the Police and Fire Commission?

The Police and Fire Commission meeting this Wednesday, July 15 will be held on Zoom with no in-person attendance. This meeting is a quasi-judicial hearing, much like a court trial. The purpose of this meeting is to allow the attorneys for the Anderson family and Officer Mensah to have their cases heard. The public will be able to view the meeting on Zoom. The will discuss moving forward with an independent, third-party investigator to advance the complaint and determine the scope of an investigation related to a complaint against an officer. If retained, the investigator would conduct a thorough investigation and present findings during another meeting of the Police and Fire Commission.

The scheduled evidentiary hearing is likely to occur over a series of Police and Fire Commission meetings. These matters are handled by the Commission in a quasi-judicial fashion, so public comment is not a part of the process. It is, essentially, a trial.

There will be access to view the open session portions of these hearings, but there is no public comment. However, members of the public can send communication to the Police and Fire Commission: c_policefire@wauwatosa.net.

Will all meetings be held in a similar format?

There is not a plan to continue holding meetings in a Zoom-only format. The Common Council has adopted a resolution calling for meetings to be held in an in-person format with a virtual option for people who do not wish to attend in-person. Public health guidelines should be followed at all meetings.

This press release was produced by the City of Wauwatosa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.