Open Meetings
All plan commission meetings and hearings must comply with Wisconsin’s open meetings law. This law is intended to give the public prior notice of meetings of governmental bodies and to assure that they are held in places that are open and reasonably accessible to the public including those with disabilities. This also means that the facility chosen for a meeting should be sufficient for the number of people reasonably expected to attend. Some meetings or portions of meetings are permitted to be held in closed session, but generally, discussion and decision-making must be conducted in open session and motions and voting must be open and recorded.
1. Purpose Test
The Purpose Test is met when discussion, information gathering, or decision-making takes place on a matter within the jurisdiction of the governmental body. This test is met even if no votes are taken; mere discussion or information gathering satisfies the test.
2. Numbers Test
The Numbers Test is met when enough members of the body are present to determine the outcome of an action. By statute, if a quorum is present (generally one-half of the members of the body), there is presumed to be a meeting unless the purpose test is not met. A lesser number of members may also meet the numbers test if sufficient numbers are present to block a decision (e.g., two members of a five-member commission where four votes are required to carry an issue). This is known as a “negative quorum.”
Quorums
Under the open meetings law, a meeting is a gathering of members of a governmental body for the purpose of exercising responsibilities and authority vested in the body. A meeting occurs when both a purpose test and a numbers test are met:
- Quorum – at least one-half of the members of a body; sufficient to decide most matters.
- Negative Quorum – enough members of a body (generally less than quorum) to block a decision.
- Walking Quorum – a series of meetings or discussions, each involving less than a quorum, intended to decide a matter.
Additional Considerations
Phone conferences, chance and social gatherings, and conferences may constitute a meeting if the numbers and purpose tests are met. Phone calls to arrange meeting logistics or gatherings where no official business is discussed do not meet the open meetings test.
A series of gatherings, telephone calls, faxes, e-mails or electronic messages between plan commission members could also constitute an illegal meeting. A series of meetings or discussions, each less than quorum size, to discuss plan commission business (other than logistics) is known as a “walking quorum.” This practice is illegal because it is not noticed and open to the public.
Site inspections by the plan commission must comply with the open meetings law if the purpose and numbers tests are met. If commission members travel to an inspection site together, they should refrain from discussing commission business while in transit. Inspections in which no testimony is taken and no discussions are held constitute meetings if the numbers test is met since their intended purpose is to gather information relating to plan commission business.
