Upon initial appointment, a veteran member of the plan commission, governing body or planning staff should orient new plan commission members and provide them with copies of resources necessary to do their job.  Regular updates should be provided to all commission members when materials change.

Plan commission members should have access to ongoing training and education.  Planning and zoning staff at the county or municipal level may be able to provide members with updates to local plans, ordinances, statutes, and case law.  Periodic training is also provided by other groups such as the Wisconsin Towns Association, Wisconsin Counties Association, League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Wisconsin’s nine Regional Planning Commissions, and the University of Wisconsin-Cooperative Extension.

The UW-Extension Center for Land Use Education provides plan commission workshops throughout the state addressing the roles and responsibilities of the plan commission and related procedural and decision-making standards.  The UW-Extension Local Government Center provides training on topics such as Wisconsin’s open meeting law, public records law, and code of ethics.  County-based Extension educators may also assist with these and other topics.

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