Thiesfeldt Bill Would Eliminate Need For Publishing Meeting Minutes In Newspapers

State Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt is the author of a bipartisan bill that would do away with a requirement to have meeting minutes published in newspapers. The state lawmaker from Fond du Lac says municipalities, school districts, counties, and technical colleges would meet that requirement by publishing them on their website instead. He says hardly anyone reads the minutes that are published in newspapers. He says at a recent meeting of school administrators in southeastern Wisconsin he asked those present who reads those minutes. He says none of the 30 or 40 superintendents or principals raised their hands. He says last year the Fond du Lac School District spent $4,400 publishing meeting minutes in the local paper and Fond du Lac County $7,200. He says if the bill passes it would save about $20,000 a year of taxpayer money in Fond du Lac County.  The bill would not affect the printing of agendas and meeting notices in newspapers.