Public Meeting, Courthouse Cancelations Begin

Government meetings are not exempt from the national push to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County have each canceled their first public meetings. Jury trials in Milwaukee County have been canceled from March through April 3rd.

The Common Council’s Steering and Rules Committee, scheduled for Friday at 1:30 p.m., has been canceled in part because of concerns about the virus. The four-item agenda had already been cut in half prior to the cancelation.

The next scheduled council meeting is Monday afternoon for the Judiciary & Legislation Committee. City-County Task Force on Climate and Economic Equity workgroups are scheduled to meet Friday afternoon and Monday morning. The city’s Public Engagement Work Group is also scheduled to meet Monday.

The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors has canceled its Monday morning meeting of the Economic and Community Development Committee. No other meetings are scheduled Monday.

Going forward Wisconsin counties and municipalities will have to grapple with how to comply with the state’s Open Meetings Law which includes requirements on notice and public accommodations. Simply pushing everything online is not an option that complies with the law.

Prolonged shutdowns of either legislative entity would jeopardize the ability of the city and county to fully function, even if administrative employees continued to work. The bodies routinely work on measures relating to funding, procurement, business licensing and contracts.

The Milwaukee County Circuit Court system will provide updates to any jurors scheduled to appear after April 3rd.