Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Thursday, September 04, 2008

Talking open government

By the Tribune editorial board

Although public officials sometimes do not seem to appreciate openness in government, two of Wisconsin’s key laws emphasize it.

Both the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law and the Wisconsin Open Records Law emphasize that openness is essential to a democracy.

Here is how the Open Meetings Law frames the issue:

“In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the public is entitled to the fullest and most complete information regarding the affairs of government as is compatible with the conduct of governmental business.”

In recognition of the importance of open government, the Wisconsin Department of Justice will host a series of five public seminars on public records and open meetings.

If you have any interest in government at the local or state level — or if you’re interested in a particular issue and don’t believe you’ve been given the information you need — attending one of these three-hour meetings would be very useful.

Department of Justice staff members who deal with various areas of the open meetings and open records laws, will discuss and explain the laws, and answer questions.

Here is the schedule of seminars: