GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — In Green Bay, there's new information in the saga of audio and video surveillance at City Hall.
NBC 26 reported last week that the cameras are raising concerns over privacy.
Microphones were added to City Hall's surveillance system on the first and second floors between winter of 2021 and summer of last year.
The issue is now full of controversy. It was brought up by Alderman Chris Wery during a Common Council meeting Feb. 7.
"City council nor the public was advised of this spying, and not even simple signage warning of the intrusion was put in place," Wery said during the meeting. "Nothing."
NBC 26 has learned through an open records request that two Green Bay law offices — the Law Offices of Crowell & Schuchart, LLC, and The Law Offices of Janet Angus — as well as city alderman Jennifer Grant, requested footage from the surveillance. Crowell and Schuchart requested footage from April 5, 2022, while Janet Angus and Alderman Grant asked for footage from Nov. 8 of last year.
April 5 was the spring election, and Nov. 8 was the general election.
"I was contacted by a resident," Grant said. "There was an interaction between her and a staff member that was not a very pleasant one."
Grant was elected last spring. She says she went to the city's Human Resources Department on the matter and was offered to review footage of the incident.
That's when she learned of this surveillance inside City Hall.
In an email to City Attorney Joanne Bungert on Nov. 9, Grant requested footage of the first floor between noon and 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 8.
"Were you the only alderman aware of these recording devices?," reporter Tyler Job asked.
"I am not sure," Grant said. "I didn't speak to any other alderman about it...You know, when you're elected, you assume that things that are in place were done properly, and legally, and through the right process."
Last week, the Wisconsin Legislative Council issued a memo to State Senator Andre Jacque, who asked about the legality of the current surveillance setup at City Hall. The memo said without a surveillance sign posted, a court could rule a party did not consent to being recorded.
On Friday, Feb. 10, the City said the memo noted that security cameras with audio abilities are legal.
But in an email forwarded by Senator Jacque, a lawyer from the Legislative Council says the memo does not give an opinion on the legality of the surveillance system. The City responded Thursday, Feb. 16. In a statement from HR Chief of Operations Joseph Faulds, he says, "We understand that the memo was not written to the specific fact situation regarding the City of Green Bay’s security system. The City has provided it’s statement that the security cameras are lawful and we do not have anything further to add."
On Monday, Feb. 13, State Senate Attorney Ryan Walsh claimed the City's use of recording devices in City Hall is illegal, and asked Mayor Eric Genrich that the audio surveillance be shut down, and all recordings get deleted.
The City responded Tuesday, Feb. 14, denying that request. City leaders say its security system is legal and commonplace.
