Public Comment

Public comment or a communication to a committee, commission, or the Common Council happens in different ways and the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law speaks to the public’s access to government information. The open meetings law gives the public the right to observe open meetings.

Wauwatosa goes beyond this minimum requirement and takes in-person public comment at these meetings:

• Transportation Affairs Committee
• Community Affairs Committee
• Financial Affairs Committee
• Government Affairs Committee
• Plan Commission

In-person public comment is not taken at the Common Council unless there is a properly noticed public hearing scheduled.

Other committees may take public comment, at the discretion of the committee chair.

Meeting Schedules

The Common Council meets regularly once a month at 6:30 p.m. and may call additional special sessions, including Committee of the Whole meetings, as necessary. The Common Council meets at City Hall in the Council Chambers, located at 7725 W. North Avenue. You can attend Common Council meetings or follow along through the Meeting Portal.

Standing Council Committees meet at City Hall in the Committee meeting rooms located on the 2nd floor of City Hall two Tuesdays of each month. Committee start times can vary and can be found within meeting agendas on the Meeting Portal. These committees are:

• Transportation Affairs Committee
• Community Affairs Committee
• Financial Affairs Committee
• Government Affairs Committee

Special Meetings

Special meetings are unscheduled meetings that usually address issues that need immediate attention or that need more time and discussion than is warranted during regular meetings.

The mayor, or the president of the council if the mayor is absent or otherwise incapacitated, may call a special meeting by providing written notice stating the reasons for and the items of business to be considered at the special meeting. The written notice will be given to each council member according to city ordinance, and no other business not included in the written notice will be considered at the special meeting.

Additionally, a special meeting may be called by at least five council members signing a petition. The petition will state the reasons for and items of business to be considered at the special meeting, and no other business will be considered.

Packet

A meeting packet provides interested parties with information about a scheduled meeting, including items of the agenda, the date, time, and location of the meeting, and any additional information about the meeting the committee felt important to include. Additional information may include minutes from prior meetings, narratives from different departments, or meeting-specific information. Meeting packets can be found in the Meeting Portal.

Open and Closed Sessions

An open meeting is a meeting that is held in a reasonably accessible place to members of the public, and that is open to all residents at all times. Almost all meetings are open sessions so that the public has the ability to stay informed about governmental affairs. Public notice of a meeting will be given at least 24 hours before the meeting, and in the case where 24 hour notice is impossible or impracticable, at least 2 hours before the meeting. It is important to note that certain meetings may give notice much earlier in advance. For example, in Wauwatosa, the Plan Commission advertises their agenda in the newspaper 7 days in advance.

In a closed session meeting, only the members of the Common Council are present and their associated staff or legal advisors. According to Wisconsin State Law, a closed session meeting may be held for the following purposes:

• if the meeting concerns a case that is the subject of any judicial or quasi-judicial trial or hearing;
• considering dismissal, demotion, licensing or discipline of any public employee or person and the taking of formal action on any such matter; considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee;
• considering specific applications of probation, extended supervision or parole, or considering strategy for crime detection or prevention;
• deliberating or negotiating the purchasing of public properties, the investing of public funds, or conducting other specified public business;
• considering financial, medical, social or person histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons;
• conferring with legal counsel for the government body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is involved or likely to become involved;
• and/or consideration of requests for confidential written advice from the elections commission.

For more detailed information on when closed session meetings may be held, please visit the Wisconsin State Legislature website.

The Agenda

Meeting agendas will be given at least 24 hours before a meeting. Some meetings may provide agendas earlier in advance. Only items on the agenda may be discussed during a meeting, so that council members are given adequate information on items to be considered, and that they get that information far enough in advance to give it appropriate study.

Elected officials may request items to be added to the agenda for council meetings and for standing committee meetings. We also keep a “future agenda items” list at the end of every packet, so that interested parties may preview what other topics have been requested. Items for discussion at a meeting are put on the agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting, are discussed at a Committee, and then forwarded to the Council for a final decision.