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Council votes to convene closed session on proposed sale of city land on Little Muskego Lake and employee performance matters
Summary
The Muskego City Common Council voted to go into closed session to discuss the proposed sale of a strip of city-owned land on Little Muskego Lake and two employment-performance matters; some alderpersons raised concerns about the specificity of the public notice.
The Muskego City Common Council voted April 8 to convene a closed session to discuss the proposed sale of a strip of city-owned land (Lake Access Parcel Number 8 on Little Muskego Lake) and two employment-performance matters.
The motion to convene closed session cited statutory authority for closed deliberations and negotiations, and for consideration of employment, promotion, compensation or performance-evaluation data of public employees. The meeting record identifies the statutory citations as "Westat 19.85 sub 1 sub e" and "stat 19.85 sub 1 sub c." The sponsor told the council that, upon conclusion of closed session, the council would reconvene in open session to consider the public agenda and any motions related to the closed-session matters.
Several council members expressed concern that the employment items were described too vaguely in the public notice and questioned whether the notice met legal requirements for employment-related closed sessions. The city attorney (present at the meeting) advised that the notice was properly worded; some alderpersons disagreed and suggested postponing or seeking labor-attorney guidance. The sponsor urged members to vote to proceed, stating that the phrasing matched prior practice.
The council conducted a roll-call vote on the motion to convene closed session. Recorded votes (as read during roll call) were: Hamill — Yes; Decker — No; Schware — Yes; Schrader — No; Kabaki — Yes; Madden — Yes. The roll call established a majority in favor and the council moved into closed session. The meeting record indicates the closed session would be used only for deliberations and that the council intended to return to open session only to adjourn.
Because the matters to be discussed in closed session are exempted from public disclosure under the cited statutes and involve pending negotiation and personnel performance data, the council did not discuss those matters in public.
