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League of Wisconsin Municipalities outlines governance, records and budget concerns to Shorewood Hills trustees
Summary
At an April 28 Shorewood Hills workshop, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities reviewed findings from an April 21 listening session and recommended trustee training on Roberts Rules, Open Meetings Law and communication practices; the board approved the workshop agenda and then adjourned.
Village President John Imes called the Village of Shorewood Hills Board of Trustees workshop to order at 6:04 p.m. on April 28, 2026. The board heard a presentation from Jerry Deschane, Executive Director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, summarizing findings from a listening session held April 21 and offering recommendations for municipal governance training and process improvements.
Deschane told trustees that the League’s report identified several recurring themes for small communities inside larger metropolitan areas: limits on staff capacity and scale compared with neighboring cities, ongoing effects from the 2018 flood, communication challenges including timely public records responses, and constrained municipal budgets. Trustees discussed those findings during an open question period following the presentation.
Board members asked about practical steps the village could take. Deschane recommended targeted training on Roberts Rules of Order, trustee onboarding, Open Meetings Law and public communication; he also advised briefing trustees in advance of controversial or complex topics to reduce on-the-spot deliberation risks. The League cautioned about “walking quorums,” advising the village to be mindful that informal gatherings of a quorum can violate Open Meetings Law if they amount to deliberation.
On capital planning, the League noted challenges the village encountered creating its recent Capital Improvement Plan and suggested reaching out to another community’s finance director for examples of local practice. The presentation also emphasized meeting civility and recognition procedures as tools to keep public meetings orderly and compliant with open-meetings obligations.
Procedural business at the start and end of the workshop included a motion by Trustee Mark Lederer, seconded by Trustee Carol Barford, to approve the workshop agenda; the motion carried. Trustee Lederer moved to adjourn, seconded by Trustee Kate Ullsvik, and the meeting ended at 7:03 p.m.
The League’s recommendations provide a menu of training and process options the board could pursue; trustees did not take binding action on a training schedule during the workshop. Follow-up would require the board or staff to schedule trainings or peer outreach if they choose to pursue the League’s suggestions.
