LISTEN to the interview by clicking on "Hear Report" at the upper right-hand side of the page.
"....many community members are outraged over the situation. "We all have always thought the library is this wonderful safe place and, unfortunately, the American Library Association has instilled in the librarians today that the policy of all materials for all ages is the right thing to do, and we don't agree with that," she adds."
The American Library Association and the West Bend Community Memorial Library have opened the doors to sexualizing YOUR children and grandchildren.
Is YOUR library a SAFE PLACE?
?
Showing posts with label LibraryBoard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LibraryBoard. Show all posts
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Mark Belling does Open Records Request w/ West Bend Mayor and Library Board President
I just added today's podcast from the Mark Belling show to the series on the left side of this blog.
In today's show, Mark spells out open records law, then explains the action he has decided to take with our mayor and library board president.
CLICK HERE to listen!
In today's show, Mark spells out open records law, then explains the action he has decided to take with our mayor and library board president.
CLICK HERE to listen!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Library Board decides to obtain outside counsel...
We attended the Library Board meeting tonight. Here's the scoop:
Present: B. Deters, K. Engelbrecht, P. Geidel, J. Aynesworth, R. Lindbeck, J. Schaar, J. Fowler, D. Rakowski, M. Tyree.
7 p.m., Barbara Deters called the meeting to order.
Deters began with an explanation of the purpose behind the meeting. She stated there had been four Open Records Requests since winter. This, she felt, placed the library board members in a predicament that seemingly "violated our First Amendment rights" (I think she meant violated her right to privacy, or Bill of Rights, or something else, because this is not a 1 amendment issue.)
She went on to say that the library board members did not have "city emails for our protection" and complained that her request to the IT department was met with the response that the city was "under no oblication to give city email accounts" to the library board. Apparently, the IT department was given that statement from the city attorney in response to Deter's request.
Deters stated she had given a lot of thought to "this situation" and sought out people she had trust and confidence in, but made it clear that she did not speak to other board members. All counsel she received lent credence to her feeling that it was time to get a "second opinion from an outside source" as to the ORR issue.
The issue, stated Deters, was that the ORR sent to the mayor by myself used the term "library staff" and should not have, in her opinion, included the library board as they were not "paid or hired," according to the DPI (whom she confided in).
Furthermore, Deters was quite upset that "someone" had given out the city attorney's letter (see prior post) and it was posted on Boots and Sabers by 9 p.m. last evening. She said that it appeared the city was being run by bloggers and whoever leaked the information from the city attorney to Boots and Sabers was "unprofessional" and that it was inappropriate. She also said that those involved "did not have the best interests of the city in mind." She called the city attorney to clue her in to the blog post. Deters said that the city attorney told her that letter was "attorney/client privilege" and was not an open record to be shared. She glanced around the table, but nobody fessed up.
Since Deters did not agree with the city attorney's definition of the ORR to include the "broadest" spectrum of information possible, and also felt that the city attorney's definition was in direct conflict with the counsel she received from others, she thought the city attorney's interpretation was inaccurate and has sought the assistance of Atty. Robert Feind from Grafton. Feind, according to Deters, is experienced with ORR's and library issues. She was looking to the board to affirm her decision.
A number of questions came up, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The attorney fee, Deters said, was probably about $250 per hour. She stated "I will go and meet with him alone" to gather the information she desired, and would bring it back to the next board meeting. This would be a one-time meeting, with no future plans to obtain counsel from Atty. Feind. The funds would come out of ENDOWMENTS, not library funding, which Deters felt was appropriate for this matter.
Atty. Aynesworth suggested Deters contact the DOJ for the information she was seeking. Deters responded that she did not wish to wait that long as she was sure they would not be a "priority" on the DOJ's list of things to do. She wanted an answer "now."
Deters told the new board members tonight that "I feel sorry for you. Since 1982 this has been a very boring job. We are making up for it now."
Rakowski said that this endeavor would, perhaps, get the city to speed up giving them email accounts.
All voted unanimously to hire Attorney Feind.
MY NOTE: I wonder why the board could not have simply agreed to go back to the city attorney and tell her that they required email accounts or would be forced to hire this attorney? Perhaps that would have just avoided the expenditure of the ENDOWMENT money all together. Just wondering...)
Present: B. Deters, K. Engelbrecht, P. Geidel, J. Aynesworth, R. Lindbeck, J. Schaar, J. Fowler, D. Rakowski, M. Tyree.
7 p.m., Barbara Deters called the meeting to order.
Deters began with an explanation of the purpose behind the meeting. She stated there had been four Open Records Requests since winter. This, she felt, placed the library board members in a predicament that seemingly "violated our First Amendment rights" (I think she meant violated her right to privacy, or Bill of Rights, or something else, because this is not a 1 amendment issue.)
She went on to say that the library board members did not have "city emails for our protection" and complained that her request to the IT department was met with the response that the city was "under no oblication to give city email accounts" to the library board. Apparently, the IT department was given that statement from the city attorney in response to Deter's request.
Deters stated she had given a lot of thought to "this situation" and sought out people she had trust and confidence in, but made it clear that she did not speak to other board members. All counsel she received lent credence to her feeling that it was time to get a "second opinion from an outside source" as to the ORR issue.
The issue, stated Deters, was that the ORR sent to the mayor by myself used the term "library staff" and should not have, in her opinion, included the library board as they were not "paid or hired," according to the DPI (whom she confided in).
Furthermore, Deters was quite upset that "someone" had given out the city attorney's letter (see prior post) and it was posted on Boots and Sabers by 9 p.m. last evening. She said that it appeared the city was being run by bloggers and whoever leaked the information from the city attorney to Boots and Sabers was "unprofessional" and that it was inappropriate. She also said that those involved "did not have the best interests of the city in mind." She called the city attorney to clue her in to the blog post. Deters said that the city attorney told her that letter was "attorney/client privilege" and was not an open record to be shared. She glanced around the table, but nobody fessed up.
Since Deters did not agree with the city attorney's definition of the ORR to include the "broadest" spectrum of information possible, and also felt that the city attorney's definition was in direct conflict with the counsel she received from others, she thought the city attorney's interpretation was inaccurate and has sought the assistance of Atty. Robert Feind from Grafton. Feind, according to Deters, is experienced with ORR's and library issues. She was looking to the board to affirm her decision.
A number of questions came up, but nothing out of the ordinary.
The attorney fee, Deters said, was probably about $250 per hour. She stated "I will go and meet with him alone" to gather the information she desired, and would bring it back to the next board meeting. This would be a one-time meeting, with no future plans to obtain counsel from Atty. Feind. The funds would come out of ENDOWMENTS, not library funding, which Deters felt was appropriate for this matter.
Atty. Aynesworth suggested Deters contact the DOJ for the information she was seeking. Deters responded that she did not wish to wait that long as she was sure they would not be a "priority" on the DOJ's list of things to do. She wanted an answer "now."
Deters told the new board members tonight that "I feel sorry for you. Since 1982 this has been a very boring job. We are making up for it now."
Rakowski said that this endeavor would, perhaps, get the city to speed up giving them email accounts.
All voted unanimously to hire Attorney Feind.
MY NOTE: I wonder why the board could not have simply agreed to go back to the city attorney and tell her that they required email accounts or would be forced to hire this attorney? Perhaps that would have just avoided the expenditure of the ENDOWMENT money all together. Just wondering...)
Library upset about giving over public records
As we continue to see and hear from the media that parents asking for assistance from their local library are:
...we should also take note that the library board brought the attention to the City of West Bend on their own volition by:
Interesting how:
This is the same public library that follows the standard of "all things for all people."
Think about it.
- book burners
- book banners
- censors
- bigots
- giving the city a black eye
...we should also take note that the library board brought the attention to the City of West Bend on their own volition by:
- refusing to respond to it's own policies
- putting off public meetings
- ignoring citizen requests to dialogue
Interesting how:
- The library board loves the city attorney's advice when it can be used as an excuse to get rid of citizens, but...
- hate the city attorney's advice when a citizen calls for compliance with open records requests, then...
- calling an emergency meeting on short notice (Where is the public notification? On a city hall or library bulletin board? Nice.) and stating they will hire (taxpayer dollars flying out the window) outside counsel to....what?
- Try to hide open public records from the public?
- Keep the public from learning something?
This is the same public library that follows the standard of "all things for all people."
Think about it.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
West Bender comments on "Blog Wars"
Comment from GAWKER.com ( http://gawker.com/5292791/small+town-wisconsin-has-its-own-blog-wars-thank-you-very-much)
Note: Two parenthetical edits have been made due to explicit content of post. Please see link above for unedited comment.
Ascender
2:56 PM Holy (explicit). I am a proud graduate of West Bend West High School (the other half of that picture...(explicit) the Suns) and the son of the Library Board President for West Bend. This raging local squabble has consumed my phone calls home for the last two months...seeing it on here is like some weird media warp into my inquiries as to the home front.
And while the locals are using the internets to get in each others proverbial faces...just try reading that on the online version of the local rag, The West Bend Daily News, which has online content for newspaper subscribers only. NYTimes take note! If it can work in small town Wisconsin, it can work for you!
Note: Two parenthetical edits have been made due to explicit content of post. Please see link above for unedited comment.
Ascender
2:56 PM Holy (explicit). I am a proud graduate of West Bend West High School (the other half of that picture...(explicit) the Suns) and the son of the Library Board President for West Bend. This raging local squabble has consumed my phone calls home for the last two months...seeing it on here is like some weird media warp into my inquiries as to the home front.
And while the locals are using the internets to get in each others proverbial faces...just try reading that on the online version of the local rag, The West Bend Daily News, which has online content for newspaper subscribers only. NYTimes take note! If it can work in small town Wisconsin, it can work for you!
Library Board Appointments in West Bend approved
Owen blogged it here, so I won't reinvent the wheel...
Apparently, Mayor Deiss didn’t see fit to actually tell the Council anything
about them and the citizens appointees themselves declined to attend.
Named to the board by Mayor Kristine Deiss from a field of 18 volunteers were West Bend residents James Fowler, Douglas Rakowski and Judith Schaar.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Mayor to present new library board appointees for affirmation by City Council
The West Bend City Council will be meeting tonight at 6:30. Mayor Kristine Deiss will be presenting the new library board appointees for our City Council alderpersons to affirm. Interestingly, not all who applied received so much as a phone call from the mayor. Some received no communication whatsoever.
Hope the deck's not being stacked. But then again, let's go back to the last library board meeting.... All things are possible.
Hope the deck's not being stacked. But then again, let's go back to the last library board meeting.... All things are possible.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
6:30 PM
1115 S. Main Street
West Bend
(Entrance on the back side of the police station - Eder Lane parking lot)
City Council chambers is on the 2nd floor.
6:30 PM
1115 S. Main Street
West Bend
(Entrance on the back side of the police station - Eder Lane parking lot)
City Council chambers is on the 2nd floor.
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