Reading Time: 3 minutes
“I was wondering if, in a future edition, you might offer some insight into some of the process behind some of these city and town board meetings. For example, I have always wondered why boards are allowed to meet in a closed session.” — reader Sophie B.
Great suggestion, Sophie. You’re not the first person to wonder about closed sessions.
Generally speaking, most boards follow the rules we’ll dive into below. However, some don’t, and it’s important to know the rules so that if something seems fishy, you can report it.
What is closed session?
Closed session is when a board meets without members of the general public present.
When can a board go into closed session?
Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law is pretty clear on reasons why a board can go into closed session and on how to notify the public about closed session.
First things first: Every governmental body “shall give at least 24 hours” notice that a meeting of any kind will take place.
In the case of an emergency meeting, the public must be notified at least two hours before the meeting starts. That’s for any meeting, regardless of whether it includes a closed session.
Do boards have to give notice of closed session?
You betcha! A board that plans to convene in closed session has to say so on its agenda and list the reason why.
Furthermore, a board has to start a meeting in open session and a motion must be made, seconded and approved before closed session starts.
When can a board go into closed session?
State law lists reasons a board can go into closed session, but this breakdown from the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association lays them out without all the legal jargon:
- To deliberate after any quasi-judicial trial or hearing.
- To consider specific personnel matters.
- To consider specific applications of probation or parole.
- To consider a strategy for crime detection or prevention.
- To deliberate or negotiate the purchase of public property, the investing of public money, or to conduct specific public business when competitive or bargaining reasons require a closed section.
- To deliberate unemployment insurance or worker’s compensation.
- To deliberate the location of a burial site if discussing it in public would likely result in disturbance of the burial site.
- To consider financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific people, which if discussed in public would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any such person.
- To confer with legal counsel for a governmental body that is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy with respect to litigation.
- To consider requests for confidential written advice from the Government Accountability Board, which used to be called the State Ethics Board.
- To consider some matters related to acts by businesses, which if discussed in public could adversely affect the business, its employees or former employees, under the State Economic Adjustment Program.
- To consider financial information relating to the support of certain nonprofit corporations.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Open Meetings Guide goes into detail about each one, as well.
Personnel issues and getting legal advice from attorneys are the common reasons I see on agendas.
Can the board talk about anything in closed session?
No. The law is clear on this, too. The discussion can only focus on the reason why the board goes into closed session. This is why you might see a board list multiple reasons for closed session on its agenda – officials don’t want to go back and forth from open to closed session multiple times.
Are minutes taken during closed session?
Yes: “The open meetings law requires a governmental body to create and preserve a record of all motions and roll-call votes at its meetings. This requirement applies to both open and closed sessions,” according to the DOJ’s Open Meetings Guide.
Can boards vote in closed session?
The law isn’t super clear on this. The state DOJ advises government bodies to reconvene in open session to take a vote.
Learn more
The DOJ’s Open Meetings Guide has a ton more information about open meetings generally, including what to do if you think a local government board violated open meetings law.
Thanks for the question, Sophie!
If you have a question about open meetings or open records, let me know: jzvandenhouten@wisconsinwatch.org.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
How do closed sessions in government meetings work? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.
