GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-METRO) – Green Bay’s mayor says it’s legal and common for cities to secretly record the conversations of people at city hall.
The city is defending the administration after an alderman outed Mayor Eric Genrich for recording people at city hall without their knowledge.
Green Bay issued a ‘fact sheet’ on Friday that explained many cities record people at city hall. The feed in Green Bay went to the police, and the fact sheet said that was because some people made threats in the past.
Fact Sheet:
The City of Green Bay is focused on maintaining a safe and secure environment for the public and for city staff within our City Hall. Following complaints from City staff and members of the public, the Green Bay City Administration felt it necessary to enhance the security system on the first and second floors of City Hall between Winter 2021 and Summer 2022.
In the interest of sharing factual information, and to correct any misinformation that may have been spread to the public, we share the following facts regarding security at City Hall:
This type of security system is lawful and commonplace. A memo from the Wisconsin Legislative Council, dated February 7, 2023, did not “detail serious legal concerns” but rather noted that security cameras with audio capabilities do not violate Wisconsin’s Electronic Surveillance Control Law (WESCL).
There has been similar technology in place in the Green Bay Police Department’s lobby for nearly a decade. The City currently has 77 security cameras as a part of our transit system – the buses have had video and audio components for nearly 20 years. The Metro Transit lobby has had audio/video monitoring since 2009.
As is common knowledge, security cameras have become an integral part of public safety across the country. There are 14 cameras located in multiple public areas of City Hall, including entrances, exits, and hallways. Three of those cameras, located only in the hallways of the first and second floors, have audio capability.
This is not police surveillance. However, Shift Command at the Green Bay Police Department has access to this feed and several others in the community for the purposes of responding to an emergency.
Footage is not continuously monitored by City staff. After the fact, video and audio has been reviewed and proved valuable in gathering information about accidents, altercations, and damage to property at City Hall.
Signage is not required in these circumstances, but City Administration has decided to install signage at City Hall, within the Metro Transit lobby, and in the lobby of the Green Bay Police Department in the near future.
A growing number of lawmakers from the Green Bay area want a legal opinion as to whether the city’s hidden microphones are legal, and they want them taken down.
