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Staff meetings on Middleton sustainable‑purchasing plan flagged; committee to make future briefings public
Summary
Staff told the committee that a local reporter raised concerns the way small subgroup staff meetings were held may have violated open‑meetings rules; staff pledged to post agendas and notes and to run future meetings as public notices while following up with the city attorney.
Committee members heard progress on implementing Middleton’s sustainable‑purchasing policy and were told that earlier staff briefings with small subgroups may have violated open‑meetings rules.
Laura (committee member) summarized her work on measurement approaches for the implementation plan and said she is using the plan as part of her master’s capstone project. She said staff have requested financial records to assess where the city is spending and to develop a sustainability index to track program performance.
Kelly (city staff) said George Zenz of the Middleton Review alerted staff that holding multiple small staff meetings with three committee members could be inconsistent with open‑meetings law. Kelly told the committee the city manager has been contacted and that any future subgroup meetings addressing implementation will be noticed publicly, have an agenda and post notes to the committee packet.
Committee members asked for formal legal clarification on what level of subgroup contact constitutes a prohibited meeting and Kelly said she would follow up with the city attorney. Kelly also suggested that, where appropriate, committee members could appear on already‑noticed departmental committee agendas (for example golf or airport committees) to gather feedback in a public setting.
The committee supported moving forward with transparent, noticed staff meetings and requested staff provide the past staff‑meeting notes and legal guidance at a future meeting.
