GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Potentially private conversations being recorded has been a big topic in our area since early February. That is when most of the public found out Green Bay installed audio recording devices without approval or knowledge from its city council.
In defending the move, Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich has compared the city’s surveillance to what other municipalities in our area are doing – particularly calling out Oshkosh City Hall, the Manitowoc County Courthouse and Brown County Sheriff’s Department.
At the beginning of the March 7 meeting where Green Bay’s city council voted to remove audio recording devices from the hallways of city hall, Genrich came to his own defense.
“The security of staff and members of the public is really what matters,” said Genrich.
Genrich explained microphones were added outside the clerk’s office, his office, and the council chambers, under his authority, with guidance from the police department after three incidents where he says city employees and a reporter were verbally assaulted.
The surveillance has spurred a civil lawsuit, led by the Wisconsin Senate, alleging Genrich and the city violated the law and constitution.
The West Allis Police Department is also investigating whether criminal charges should be filed.
“To those who are interested in a discussion on the merits, it’s worth noting the presence of similar security systems at other city facilities and around the state of Wisconsin, including our very own Brown County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Manitowoc County Courthouse, and city facilities in the cities of Oshkosh and Racine,” said Genrich in the March 7 meeting. “So you have to ask yourself then, why has the city of Green Bay been targeted by powerful political forces at the state level whose job is to make laws and not bring lawsuits? Might it have something to do with an election that is four weeks away? Perhaps it does.”
All the municipalities Genrich mentioned confirmed that they do have audio recording technology in those locations, with signs warning visitors of the recording.
Green Bay did not have signs until after the issue was made public, more than a year after the first microphone was put in.
Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union, was asked whether signs protect municipalities from legal challenges.
“I think the law is unclear,” said Stanley, who has been with the ACLU for more than 20 years, specializing in technology-related privacy rights. “There is a danger though from a policy point of view that everybody just starts sticking signs up, some of which might be very visible and some of it might just not be and fade into the background. Now everyone has to wonder everywhere before they start to have a conversation, they have to look around and say is there a sign here? I don’t think that is a world we want to live in.”
Brown County confirmed the sheriff’s department has had cameras that record audio in its lobby and foyer since about 2011.
Sheriff Todd Delain says during off hours, “neither the person in the dispatch center or shift commander are in the front lobby area to see and communicate directly with a person in the lobby without the assistance of the camera and mic.”
At the Manitowoc County Courthouse, audio recording is taking place in the courtrooms, waiting rooms, the basement hall, and the lobbies for child support and clerk of courts.
At Oshkosh City Hall, for more than 15 years, there’s been video and audio recording at the counter for building inspection. Similar surveillance has since been added to the counters for planning and zoning, the assessor, utility payments, and city clerk.
“Think of what is already happening with police body cam videos in terms of somebody says something allegedly happened, we can go to the tape if it’s at one of those counters,” said Mark Roholoff, Oshkosh City Manager.
Genrich had a similar explanation when asked how audio recording devices would keep city employees and the public more safe without signs telling people they were being recorded.
“Alder Scannell had mentioned the fact that you sort of get into a he said-she said situation, so this is a way to protect the integrity of staff who’ve been attacked with false allegations,” said Genrich on March 7.
After seeing what has been happening in Green Bay, Rohloff says additional signs warning of surveillance were added to city hall entrances. Rohloff says written policies for audio recording are also being developed.
As Green Bay remains in a legal battle over its audio surveillance, it’s important to remember state law requires one party to a conversation to consent to it being recorded, as long as there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Genrich and his administration maintain there is no reasonable expectation for privacy in the hallways of city hall, while those suing the mayor and city disagree.
The vote to remove the audio recording devices from Green Bay’s city hall was a 9 to 3 vote.
A Brown County judge has sealed all audio recordings from the equipment as the lawsuit continues. The city council voted to destroy the audio recordings once the lawsuit is resolved.
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