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Committee Orientation
Thank you for taking the time to serve on a committee, commission, authority, or board for the Village of McFarland. In this section you will find information in both video and document form that will help guide you during your time.
As a local governing body member, you are prohibited from using your position to obtain private benefit for yourself. Any time a topic arises that you would have private benefit, you should abstain from the discussion and remove yourself from the table. If topics arise and you believe there may be a potential conflict of interest, please feel free to contact the Village Clerk/Treasurer or Village Administrator at 608-838-3153 to discuss the matter further.
More information can be found in the University of Wisconsin Extension FAQ (PDF), and/or the Village's Ethics Code.
Wisconsin Open Meetings Law
It is imperative that we recognize that transparency is the cornerstone of democracy and that citizens cannot hold elected officials accountable in a representative government unless government is performed in the open.
- Paul M. Ferguson, Assistant Attorney General, Wisconsin Department of Justice
A free document is available from the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Open Government Law and Compliance Guides page which provides an overview of Open Meetings law. This guide covers topics such as a what is a governmental body, what constitutes a meeting, and what is a walking quorum.
Public Records
It is imperative that we recognize that transparency is the cornerstone of democracy and that citizens cannot hold elected officials accountable in a representative government unless government is performed in the open.
- Paul M. Ferguson, Assistant Attorney General, Wisconsin Department of Justice
A free document is available from the Wisconsin Department of Justice's Open Government Law and Compliance Guides page which provides an overview of Public Records law. This guide contains an overview of topics such as what is a record, how record requests are made, and how requests are responded to.
The following links are various documents provided for you to expand your knowledge on committee structure, best practices, municipal governments, and more! We encourage you to visit these documents as you participate as a public servant of our community.
- Bad Meeting Behavior (PDF): Painting the Shed Red by Dan Hill, Retired, UW-Extension Local Government Center
- Roles of Governing Body Members (PDF), by Maria Davis, Assistant Legal Counsel and Claire Silverman, Legal Counsel, League of Wisconsin Municipalities
Tablet Usage Policy
With the addition of Surface tablets available for members to use during meetings, the Village created this policy on the use and misuse of Village devices.
Microsoft Surface Pro Usage Video
This video, created by the Communications and Technology Department, provides an introduction to the Microsoft Surface Pros that the Village has available for members to utilize during meetings. These devices are subject to the Tablet Usage Policy (PDF).