GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Green Bay’s city council meets tonight, and it’s expected to pass a policy to remove audio surveillance devices inside city hall and perhaps other buildings as well.
A Brown County judge ordered last week the microphones at city hall be turned off until the court says otherwise.
The city council is expected to change city ordinance, so it has authority over audio recording devices at city hall and other city buildings.
At least 8 of 12 council members have said they want the audio recording devices at city hall shut off and recordings destroyed once the lawsuit is resolved. That motion passed unanimously at a committee meeting last week.
Alderperson Melinda Eck said last week some council members will try to shut the microphones off at other locations as well.
There’s been microphones in the police department lobby since 2014. City buses and the bus station lobby have had them since 2009.
It’s been exactly one month since the issue of microphones recording conversations inside the hallways of city hall was first raised by Alderperson Chris Wery to Mayor Eric Genrich during a city council meeting.
Since then, the State Senate and three individuals have sued the city, alleging audio surveillance at city hall violates the law and constitution because people have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the hallways, especially when there were no signs notifying visitors of the recording. Signs have since been installed.
The three individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit are State Sen. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere), former city council member Tony Theisen, and attorney Janet Angus. Angus has been referred to as Jane Doe in the case, but an attorney representing the city confirmed Angus was the previously unknown plaintiff. A judge ordered the attorneys for the plaintiffs to disclose her identity to the city’s attorneys.
Council members have said this all could have been avoided if Mayor Genrich had just brought this to the council when the devices started being installed about 15 months ago.
Last week, Green Bay City Attorney Joanne Bungert explained the devices cost less than $1,000 and didn’t require council approval.
“Really the only mechanism by which a decision like this would be triggered for staff to bring to council for approval is a fiscal one, a financial one, because department heads are capped at a $25,000 expenditure,” said Bungert.
“How can you in your own mind’s eye, or the mayor’s office or anybody involved, think legally, ethically, morally that would fly?” said Wery. “Couldn’t send a memo, an email, a call, none of that except hiding behind we didn’t have to do it. Oh really, you just wanted to violate our fourth amendment’s rights and you didn’t have to tell us?”
Mayor Genrich’s administration has maintained the city did nothing illegal and the audio devices were put in for safety reasons.
Regardless of what happens tonight, city officials expect the lawsuit from the State Senate and others to proceed.
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