WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) — City leaders in Wisconsin Rapids took time on Friday to conduct their own audit of public and private/work spaces in City Hall after Wood County was hit with bad publicity in the wake of a viral “First Amendment Audit” video this month.
“[City Hall] is very linear with some lobby areas,” said Mayor Shane Blaser. “It’s very evident where those areas are; but there could be some better signage on some doors leading into work areas that are not open to the public.”
RELATED: Wood County Leaders Issue Statement Regarding Viral YouTube Video
He says that includes areas where money is kept and I/T offices. “[Those areas] really aren’t for the public, and the public doesn’t need to be in those areas. They should probably be more secure because of the value of equipment and those types of things.”
Blaser says the most important thing he wants employees to remember is that dealing with the public is at the very top of their job description and that people should feel welcome to come and go from the building to conduct business and get answers to their questions as they need to.
Earlier this month a group of YouTubers filmed areas around and inside of a Wood County building in Wisconsin Rapids but became confrontational when they were told one of the areas where they had filmed was a waiting area for a county clinic. An employee of the clinic then asked for waivers and informed them that two patients who were briefly on camera in their video did not want to be filmed.
The group also misidentified at least one county employee in their video. Health Officer Sue Smith who wasn’t in the building at the time.
