Letter to the Editor: Don’t Shoot the Messenger

The July 8-15 Peninsula Pulse ran a story of the alleged disclosure of quotes from a closed-session meeting of the Southern Door Fire Board (“Fire Board Chair Alleges Improper Closed-session Disclosure”).

At Nasewaupee’s annual meeting, Bill Krueger expressed his frustration with fellow board members of the Southern Door Fire Service and the way the northern station was being treated differently than the southern station. I did not hear Krueger say anything that violated the disclosure rules of a closed session.

A body going into closed session must, in advance, state the nature of the closed session, such as “salary negotiations” or “assessed value negotiations, Walmart.” 

Krueger said there were allegations of firefighters improperly entering a burning building and that disciplinary action was possible. But what he said was not specific enough to violate disclosure rules. He did not mention any names or the fire location. 

Closed sessions cannot be used as a shield or a gag to prevent attendees from otherwise fulfilling their responsibilities. Closed sessions cannot be used to protect an organization from embarrassing or illegal activity.

Loren Uecker has threatened to file an open-meetings violation against Krueger. This proves Nasewaupee needs to continue on the path of separating from the SDFS unless there are changes in how the SDFS operates internally.

Nasewaupee provides 70% to 80% of the funding for the SDFS and deserves more representation and more disclosure of what goes on at the SDFS, not less. 

The SDFS should focus on the real issues, not on alleged violations of open meetings or closed sessions. Krueger is the messenger. Maybe the SDFS just doesn’t like the message?

David Allen

Nasewaupee, Wisconsin