In response to public inquiries about the executive session held on July 16 by the Osceola Village Board, The Sun contacted Wisconsin Newspaper Association attorney Bob Dreps to clarify whether the meeting was held legally under the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law exemption.

The Sun found a few reasons why the meeting held may not have been legal.

Dreps said that, according to prior rulings by Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, the board’s failure to notice and hold an open session, prior to the executive session, was a clear violation of the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law.

The reason, Dreps said, for an open session to be part of the public notice, prior to all executive sessions, is so the public has an opportunity to attend in order to gain clarity or object to the reason for the meeting. The open meeting portion also reaffirms to the public what it is the board intends to discuss behind closed doors.

Regarding board member Purnal Tracy being asked by the Village board members and board president Kathy Demulling not to attend the closed meeting, Dreps said that, too, was a violation.

“That was a clear violation of the law under Wisconsin Statute 19.89, which clearly states no member can be compelled or coerced to not be present during any meeting unless local law so stipulates,” Dreps said.

Osceola has no such ordinance or requirement.

Commenting on the reason “to discuss performance evaluation of public employees” stated in the public notice for the purpose of the executive session, “it appears to have been an inaccurate way of describing what the board was actually going to discuss, since the topic was about a specific employee and the reassignment of his duties, not a discussion about the evaluation of a number of employees,” Dreps said. “The notice should have stated the board was going into executive session to discuss the re-assignment of duties for the public works director.”

Dreps said further that had the board actually stated they were going to meet in executive session to discuss a re-assignment of duties or a demotion of a specific employee, the board then may have needed to give Public Works Director Jim Schmidt advance notice under Wisconsin Statute 19.85 (1)(b) so he could exercise his right to attend and/or have the meeting held in open or closed session.

To view a copy of the state Department of Justice’s Open Meetings Law Compliance Guide, visit: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/AWP/2007OMCG-PRO/2007_OML_Compliance_Guide.pdf.

— William Holland