Alleges repeated and blatant Open Meetings Law violations
Former Town of Grant Supervisor Heather Grys-Luecht, with representation from the Wisconsin Transparency Project, has filed a lawsuit against the Town of Grant Board and its three Supervisors alleging 18 counts of violating the Open Meetings Law. Named in the suit are Town Chair Sharon Schwab and Town Supervisors Scott Provost and Doug Steltenpohl.
The alleged violations span two years and include repeated use of emails to conduct government business, illegal continuing notices that set forth a course of meetings rather than noticing them one at a time, travelling meetings where supervisors rode in the same car and failed to provide notice of each visited location, illegal generic agenda items like “Announcements & Correspondence,” and private gatherings between supervisors before and after public meetings. Each supervisor faces fines of up to $300 for each violation.
This lawsuit follows an earlier suit alleging 22 counts of violating the Open Records Law. That suit was filed in November, 2023, and is currently in discovery.
Grys-Luecht has also filed a new verified complaint with the Portage County District Attorney challenging illegal practices at eight more meetings that occurred shortly before or after she filed her original complaint in August, 2023. Those allegations challenge similar misbehavior, but also include the failure to notice topics that were expected to be discussed, moving a meeting after it began, and failing to hold a meeting in a large enough space even though officials expected overflow attendance.
Grys-Luecht had this to say: “For years, I have heard about and experienced - both as a resident and a town supervisor - the town board’s issues with accountability, favoritism, and exclusion. When I and others have called out these problems, we’ve been met with vitriol and dismissal. Town officials tell us that we don’t need information, that our requests are too much bother, and that our concerns don't matter. They use their positions to promote personal opinions and bully those who ask too many questions. It’s time to shine a light on this misbehavior and make it clear that the board faces real consequences. Transparency and public participation must be restored to maintain trust in local government.”
State law requires all meetings of governmental bodies to follow clear procedures. Notice must be posted at least 24 hours in advance with the date, time, location, and subject matter of all discussions. All meetings must be held in public locations large enough to hold the expected crowd. When a town board has only three members, any two of them gathering to discuss town business or discussing town business over email constitute a “meeting” that must follow these rules.
“I’ve never seen this much blatant disregard for transparency laws,” said Tom Kamenick, President and Founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project. “Small town official sometimes make mistakes just because they don’t know what the laws are, but Grant officials have been warned and educated time and time again but have shown no interest in fixing their problems. They blame my client for bringing their inadequacies to light rather than take responsibility themselves. We hope that the court levies the maximum penalties.”