Q: A county board went into a closed session meeting last night, and I’m interested in finding out what it discussed. How can I do that?
A: You are free to call the individual board members and try to get them to talk to you. There is nothing in the state Open Meetings Law that prohibits them from speaking with you after the session is over. Sometimes, the reason for confidentiality has passed and people will share information. Other times, they cannot. You also may file an open records request for the minutes of the meeting. The fact that the meeting was held in closed session does not preclude public access to the minutes. Section 19.88(3), Stats., requires that motions and roll call votes be recorded and available for public inspection. However, motions are typically phrased to conceal the confidential information that justified closing the meeting.
Disclaimer: The Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on the Wisconsin FOIC website are provided by Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. (LaFollette Godfrey & Kahn is the Madison office of Godfrey & Kahn, S.C.).
The information provided on this website is a service to the general public. The information provided is not legal advice. Do not act on this information without the advice of professional legal counsel, who must evaluate the facts of your situation in light of current laws before giving you legal advice.
Your use of this web site does not create an attorney-client relationship with our firm, Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., or with any of our attorneys. Please contact us directly if you would like to retain our firm as your legal counsel, www.gklaw.com. But do not send us confidential information until you have spoken with one of our attorneys. Before we can represent you, we must determine that no conflict of interest or other situation would prevent us from representing you. Our representation begins only after we complete our evaluation and agree in writing to represent you.