As Brown County Board considers recording meetings, the Press-Gazette asked candidates how they feel about it.
On April 7, 28 people will run for County Board in 14 districts around Brown County. Early in-person absentee voting begins March 24.
Some County Board members have been trying to get a video option for meetings on and off for several years. The board previously offered monthly livestreams of its meetings through NEWEye in 2016, but that only lasted a year due to problems with Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and low staffing and viewership.
Since NEWEye ended, some board members periodically brought up the possibility of recording meetings.
So, the county started a Broadcast Feasibility Ad Hoc Committee in April 2025 to look into it. Since then, the board did a test recording of a meeting in January and are continuing to explore software vendors to assist with recordings.
The county will have to meet more thorough accessibility requirements for any digital content under the Americans with Disabilities Act come April 24. Under web content accessibility guidelines that go into effect in April, local government websites, social media, and documents provided online will have to meet new standards, including any meeting recordings published online.
As the board works on broadcasting meetings, the Press-Gazette asked each candidate in a contested race for Brown County Board how they feel about recording meetings to provide an online option for County Board meetings. They were limited to a word count. Here is what each candidate had to say.
(i) indicates the incumbent candidate in the district.
Information about your polling place and registering to vote can be found on the MyVote Wisconsin website at myvote.wi.gov/en-us.
District 1
Incumbent Ron Antonneau did not seek reelection.
District 2
Incumbent Tom De Wane did not seek reelection.
District 4
District 8
District 10
District 11
District 14
District 15
District 19
Incumbent Michael LaBouve did not seek reelection.
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Here’s how Brown County Board candidates feel about recording meetings
Reporting by Benita Mathew, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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