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Record!

None of us can attend all the government meetings that we need to in order to know what’s going on, and what our local governments are deciding.  We, as citizens, have something in our toolbox to help with that:

Wis. Stat. § 19.90

Whenever a governmental body holds a meeting in open session, the body shall make a reasonable effort to accommodate any person desiring to record, film or photograph the meeting.1There should be an Oxford comma in there.

Inform

Copy and past the statute above, and e-mail it to your local government–and any government agencies, departments, councils, etc., so they know that they are required to allow you to record any public meetings.

Fire departments and EMS services may or may not fall under this rule, depending on a variety of circumstances, but I believe that all law enforcement agencies in our area would be subject to this statute.2Anyone with legal knowledge who would like to speak up, please contact the Chronicle.

Record

If you’re watching a meeting on Zoom, click the “record” option.  If the meeting denies the request, copy and paste the statute listed above, and politely inform them that they are required to allow the recording.

If you’re actually at the meeting, feel free to pull out a laptop with a web cam, or a cell phone and press “record”.  If the meeting objects, show them the statute listed above, and politely inform them that they are required to allow the recording.

Please, do not get aggressive if the staff tell you to stop recording. Remain calm and polite at all times, and continue to record without disturbing the meeting in any way.

Submit

Send your recordings to the Lodi Valley Chronicle.  I will create a YouTube channel dedicated to posting videos of local government meetings. They will be unedited. I’m looking to create an archive of what was actually said.

Footnotes

Footnotes
1 There should be an Oxford comma in there.
2 Anyone with legal knowledge who would like to speak up, please contact the Chronicle.

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