Both the Blue Mounds village attorney and Dane County District Attorney Ishmael Ozanne have found the village followed proper protocols and did not violate any open meetings laws in October 2025 despite accusations from the former village president.
A story in the Jan. 29, 2026 issue of the Mount Horeb Mail covered the finding. According to the story:
On Jan. 7, former Blue Mounds village president Audra Anderson filed a formal complaint with the Dane County DA’s office alleging Blue Mounds did not properly post the Oct. 23, 2025 meeting notice for the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The village subsequently acknowledged receipt of the complaint and referred the matter to the village attorney for review. Under state law, every meeting of a governmental body must be preceded by public notice and must be held in open session.
Under state law, local bodies of government can post notice of their meetings in a variety of ways to meet transparency requirements — including in the local newspaper, on their website, and/or in “at least three public places likely to give notice to persons affected.”
Blue Mounds Village Clerk/Treasurer Mary Jo Michek provided a posting affidavit swearing that she posted the Notice of Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in three public places in the village: the Village Hall bulletin board at 1011 Brigham Ave., the US Post Office Bulletin Board at 2695 Jones St.; and the Hooterville Inn bulletin board at 10992 Division St.
Anderson was village president for 22 years before she announced her resignation at the board’s Dec. 11, 2024 meeting. She said she felt “disrespected” by the board and village staff. During the ensuing year, she has attended village meetings despite not being a village board member and leveled an assortment of criticisms against village leadership.
The two-page complaint Anderson filed alleged the village did not properly notice the Oct. 23 meeting; that the board did not properly word a motion it voted on at the same meeting; and “a multitude of unethical incidents” involving a majority of the board, a past village board member and the current clerk/treasurer.
Anderson said later an investigator only spoke with her regarding the open meetings complaint, not any other allegations. She said she talked with Village President Paul Baum about her concerns, but when she did not feel he took her seriously enough, she pursued legal action..
Michek said the Board of Zoning Appeals will reconvene to revote on the matter, a front and side yard variance request for a South Street property in the village.
In a Jan. 21 letter to the DA’s office, attorney Rick Manthe said Anderson’s accusations were baseless. He included other examples where the village complied with open meetings laws.
Dane County District Attorney Ishmael Ozanne, in a Jan. 21 response, informed the village that after reviewing the complaint, his office would not pursue any action against the village. But, Ozanne added, his decision doesn’t negate Anderson’s right to bring private enforcement action before a court.
