A panel of ten Common Council members gathered for an open meeting on February 15 in the City of Whitewater’s municipal building. A wide array of internal topics were discussed pertaining to the everyday operations in the Common Council as well as external projects for the benefit of the City of Whitewater.

Agenda’s are the written topics for each meeting, and the council members cannot go off the beaten path when it comes to the meetings. The written agenda must be taken seriously as it gives structure to the meeting and guides how the council members should proceed in terms of projects in the area.

Prior to each meeting there are minutes, or topics of discussion, that need approval. Council President Lynn Binnie expresses his concern in the meeting about the continuation of amended agendas and members violating the 72-hour policy to add to the meeting agenda.

“This agenda was amended three times, in addition for the request of six items to be added within less than the 72-hours,” said Binnie.

Being transparent is an act of respect to peers as well as the people who are being served. Just like a car, a city is made of many parts that make everyday operations go smoothly. That is why, in city government, it is best to be transparent. The transparency ordinance mentioned in the meeting is so the city knows what is of importance and can keep the citizens updated about projects in the city.

Between the council members the transparency ordinance has been followed loosely. Council Member at Large, James Allen, shares how “shameful” it is that the policy isn’t being portrayed as it should.

“We have a transparency ordinance and we should follow it,” says Allen. “It is awfully sad and ironic to have one of the items I have to speak about is our transparency ordinance. It is almost shameful.”

It is almost as if transparency is what led to the discussions and approvals shown on the agenda. After council member Allen expressed his frustration for even talking about the transparency ordinance, he brought up some items that he tried to get on the agenda numerous times. Binnie followed the motion of transparency and allowed Allen to proceed with his items.

C-4a: There is a need to update Spectrum equipment in order for the city to stream as well as broadcast live. It is mentioned that the equipment is from the 1990s and needs to be replaced, especially in this day and age where everything has a convenient online option. While the city did upgrade to new equipment, they need a fiber optic cable run piece of equipment to stream out to Janesville and their surrounding customers.

Allen expresses how “ridiculous” it is, how it is taking over six months to get Spectrum’s attention for one new piece of equipment. Spectrum offers a public service and it is not serving the public in the matter that Allen needs them to be. Their colleague in Janesville has been waiting twice as long for the same equipment.

“ It is only Spectrum who is at fault here.” says Allen as he is advocating for the sake of appropriate broadcasting equipment.

Before president Binnie cuts off Allen’s tangent to keep him on track, Allen clarifies if he’s still within his three minute speaking period. Allen then proposes the Council mock up a letter to send to all people of importance; state representatives, senators and the like. He is not only advocating for himself but for his colleague in Janesville to push Spectrum to take action and send the needed equipment.

The importance of the transparency ordinance is shown throughout this meeting since the Spectrum topic was a continuous push by Allen to be put on the agenda. Binnie allowed for Allen to speak on the topic and only this one. It was said that one last-minute topic at a time should be discussed and all council members agreed on it.
If more citizens want to be more in the know and follow the transparency ordinance, the agenda for the meeting is here as one can get to know what is happening around Whitewater.