I had the opportunity to attend the Finance Committee meeting last Thursday, on 4/18/24. During the meeting, I raised some concerns about the optics of the council’s investigation into the Bratwurst Festival and how it could impact a partnership established for over 50 years. I am sharing my thoughts on how the extensive investigation into the festival’s financials could affect the city, considering the festival’s importance as the most lucrative tourist attraction of the year. I also highlighted that council members have been engaging with constituents on social media, requesting records on pseudo-personal Facebook pages, and making allegations of wrongdoings, apparently under the guise of their official position. While I appreciate their efforts to stay connected with the public, they must err on the side of presenting their page professionally. They should expect the public to take their words and actions as the official position of their public office. There have been comments from individuals in the council on their pseudo-private Facebook pages, which could damage the council and the festival. Therefore, the council members should be mindful of their social media interactions and ensure they are not perceived as operating in an official capacity when expressing their opinions. I wrote to Law Director Gernert, encouraging him to advise the council to create and maintain a public page representing their council position if they choose to engage with the public. By doing so, they could avoid any potential misunderstandings and uphold the integrity of their public office. The continued misrepresentation, intentional or unintentional, creates deeply seeded rifts in the community. Instead of working for some middle ground, some council members appear to run on an all-or-nothing campaign where it is their way or the highway. Seeing our public officials behave in such a way is deeply disappointing.