The Racine City Council convened on October 30, 2025, to conduct the public hearing and ongoing discussion for the 2026 proposed city budget. The meeting began with a procedural discussion regarding the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, wherein City Administrator and City Attorney reminded members that discussing council business outside of properly noticed public meetings constitutes a potential legal violation. The council then proceeded through a public hearing featuring testimony from residents and community organizers advocating for the Department of Community Safety's violence prevention program and the implementation of a municipal ID card program. Following public testimony, the council debated whether to refer a series of twelve ordinances attached to the budget to standing committees for further vetting or to debate them immediately in the Committee of the Whole. After extensive deliberation and voting on individual referral motions with mixed results, the Council deferred the discussion on the ordinances to the next Committee of the Whole meeting to ensure proper review and public engagement.
I know you say that. How are you? What do you think? How are you? Yes. I do not find one second. Let me bring back to all the rates. We ask you guys to be seated so we can start, please. Thank you. Uh today is Thursday, October thirtieth. Uh and we are going to uh start our twenty twenty-six bud budget public hearing and ordinance discussion. So at this time we will have uh uh cultural. Sorry, Alder Lamb has asked to be excused, Alder Kelly, Alder Harmon. We will start we're gonna start our uh our uh public our public hearing for the twenty twenty-six proposed budget. Uh uh City City administrator. Yes, uh thank you, President Horton. Um, I need to just take a brief pause at the beginning of the meeting so that we can refresh ourselves on the requirements of the Wisconsin open meetings law. It has come to my attention that there have been conversations outside of scheduled council meetings or committee meetings uh to further discuss the budget. It is important for all of our members to keep your discussions to regularly scheduled noticed public meetings that when we're having discussions outside of those regularly scheduled meetings, the public does not have notice of those meetings or an opportunity to uh listen or to appeal to the body. I think it's a part of the integrity of the system, and moreover, it is part of Wisconsin law, it's not an optional law. Um I know that we've been briefed on this before. You're all briefed on this when you're onboarded uh as a member of this body. You're you hear about this when you attend legal municipalities meetings, but nonetheless, I think that we need a reminder of that. So I would like to ask the city attorney to provide us with a refresher on the requirements of the Wisconsin open records and open meetings law. Thank you. I think Alderman Whitener has a question. Could you take you to your button for me? Is this noticed on our agenda? This admonishment by the city administrator and city attorney. It is it is not. They were in the queue. He was in the queue, and I just selected him in the queue. It's not on the agenda. So at this time, we will at this time then I will call for a point of order if it's not on the agenda. My point of order is if it's not on the agenda, we can't have this discussion. I think that given the fact that we're talking about a violation of the Wisconsin law which may result in this city and body. Okay, not to hear something. First, I'd like a ruling on my order, you're not recognized by the chair. When you call a point of order, you don't need to be recognized. No, you don't. No, you don't. We're gonna have the the city attorney to speak in so that we can move forward. Well, first, I'd like a ruling on my point of order from the parliamentarian. If it is not noticed on the agenda, is it appropriate to have the discussion? We have the city attorney to ask. Okay. Under the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law, there is a prohibition against meetings of governmental bodies that are not noticed publicly. There are other aspects of the law, but a governmental body means any state or local agency, board, commission, committee, council, it's a variety of other lists, and of course, that would include the common council, any committee of the common council, and any board authority or commission of the city of Racine. A meeting is defined as the convening of members of a governmental body for the purpose of exercising responsibilities, authorities, powers, or duties delegated to or vested in the body. So broadly we could say as to the city of Racine, that would be city business.