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Adams County supervisors receive orientation on governance, ethics and open-meetings rules
Summary
At an orientation meeting, Adams County corporation counsel and UW Extension presenters trained supervisors on county statutory authority, ethics and conflicts rules, open-meetings and public-records obligations, and parliamentary procedure; attendees asked questions about recusal, closed sessions and remote participation.
Adams County’s Board of Appointments held an orientation session in which the county’s corporation counsel reviewed how county government is structured and the legal limits that supervisors must observe.
Nancy, Adams County’s corporation counsel, told supervisors that counties sit in a different legal position than municipalities and that ‘‘the main place you’ll find legislation regarding the authority of counties … is in chapter 59 of the Wisconsin statutes,’’ which creates administrative home rule and leaves many service obligations in state law. She stressed the board’s primary duties—setting policy through ordinances and resolutions and adopting the county budget—and described the county’s executive functions carried out by the county administrator.
The presentation covered three areas that can expose supervisors to personal liability: violations of the state ethics code (chapter 19), certain self-dealing crimes (discussed with reference to §946.13), and open-meetings or public-records violations. Nancy gave concrete limits discussed in the training, saying that chapter 19 violations can carry fines and that some self-dealing offences carry criminal penalties; she also advised supervisors to consult advisory opinions when unsure, noting that ‘‘if you request an advisory opinion and you follow the advisory opinion, then you’re protected from liability.’’
The training included practical guidance on recusals and abstentions: Nancy recommended announcing an intended abstention when the agenda is approved so the clerk can note it and the supervisor can avoid participating in related outside discussions. She also reviewed sources of local rules, including Adams County’s ethics ordinance (chapter 34) and the county board rules the supervisors had recently approved.
UW Extension and student presenters ran an interactive Robert’s Rules exercise demonstrating how to make and amend motions. In the exercise, presenters moved to ‘‘make trail mix,’’ the board voted, and an amendment to exclude an ingredient (described in the exercise as ‘‘tuna’’) was proposed and adopted to show amendment and voting procedure.
Supervisors asked several procedural and legal questions during the session, including whether Robert’s Rules may be superseded by local board rules (Nancy said board rules take priority where they conflict) and how remote participation is handled for closed sessions. On that point, Nancy said the county’s technology does not reliably allow excluding other participants and that the county now shuts down Zoom during closed sessions so remote attendees cannot remain in closed session without risking policy violations.
The orientation concluded with resource links and a note that the county posts agendas in advance; Nancy encouraged supervisors to archive emails and texts related to county business because such communications are records subject to disclosure. She provided contact information and directed supervisors to additional webinars and guides from the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Attorney General. The board adjourned following the presentation.
