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Germantown committee votes to forward ordinance limiting trustee virtual appearances and stopping read-aloud of emailed comments
Summary
The committee agreed to send a proposed Chapter 2 ordinance to the village board with recommendations to limit trustees' Webex/virtual attendance (suggested two meetings per year) and to stop reading written email comments aloud at meetings while keeping them in the record; trustees split on the trade-offs between public access and meeting efficiency.
Attorney Sajak presented proposed amendments to Chapter 2 of the municipal code that would codify pre-COVID practices on electronic attendance and public comments. The central recommendations forwarded by the committee to the village board were: restrict trustee virtual appearances to a limited number per calendar year (the committee recommended up to two), and discontinue reading written/email public comments aloud during meetings while still incorporating those submissions into the official record and minutes.
Sajak said the proposed changes "took us back to the way we did it before COVID," citing Robert's Rules as a guide. He emphasized that Wisconsin law does not require municipal bodies to provide an oral-comment forum and that the village can set the rules, though standard First Amendment constraints for a limited public forum apply.
Trustees debated the proposals. Supporters argued reading emails in full can dramatically lengthen meetings—one pointed to a past agenda that could have produced 50 email comments—and said trustees receive submissions in advance and can review them. Opponents, including Trustee Jan Miller and some residents who wrote in, argued that reading comments aloud ensures the public (and residents who do not read trustee email) hear concerns and that limiting virtual appearances could disadvantage those unable to travel for legitimate reasons (illness, disability, travel). Trustee Kaminski favored retaining limited virtual options (sick days) and recommended up to two virtual appearances per trustee per year.
The committee voted to forward the ordinance to the village board for discussion with an amendment to allow up to two virtual appearances per calendar year for trustees and to discontinue reading written comments aloud at meetings (emails to remain part of the record). The item will be considered by the full village board.
