Date:
03/17/2022
Subject:
Giada Morresi/City of Des Moines - Dismissal Order
Opinion:
The Iowa Public Information Board
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In re the Matter of: Giada Morresi, Complainant And Concerning: City of Des Moines, Respondent |
Case Number: 22FC:0005
Dismissal Order
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COMES NOW, Margaret E. Johnson, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Dismissal Order.
On February 6, 2022, Giada Morresi filed formal complaint 22FC:0005, alleging that the City of Des Moines (City) violated Iowa Code chapter 22.
Ms. Morresi alleged that the City failed to release records she requested on December 21, 2021. The records requested were the records created during a Zoom meeting. At the time of the filing of her complaint, she noted that the City had not responded to her request. She asked for an explanation as to why the records were not released or whether the records still exist.
On February 8, 2022, the City’s legal counsel responded to the complaint and indicated that the record request would be immediately investigated. On February 10, 2022, the City provided copies of the records located in the “Zoom question and answer function” of the record. Counsel added that Ms. Morresi requested records from the “Zoom chat function,” a separate function of a Zoom meeting.
Ms. Morresi replied to the City, noting that she did not limit her record request to one function of the Zoom meeting and that there were in fact still unreleased records that were created during this Zoom meeting.
Following this comment, legal counsel conducted another search and found another question and answer document. Counsel stated that two different departments had created records. Initially, it was thought the records were identical, but upon further review, it was determined that two separate records were created.
On February 22, 2022, IPIB staff asked Ms. Morresi if all records had been received. On March 1, 2022, Ms. Morresi stated that she was ‘glad’ that the City had finally released the records for public feedback, but that the City still withheld the records for over two months.
Ms. Morresi stated she would have liked to have had these records to reference during the City’s “public listening post” on January 29, 2022. She added that the untimely release of records has prevented members of the public from engaging with the city's budget process.1
Iowa Code section 22.2(2) states:
2. A government body shall not prevent the examination or copying of a public record by contracting with a nongovernment body to perform any of its duties or functions.
Using the Zoom application to conduct meetings is permissible, but the government body has the responsibility to appropriately retrieve records created and stored by the Zoom function. In this complaint, the City would not have properly searched and found the two separate records had not the complainant known that the first response was incomplete. The City may want to modify its procedure for retrieving records to ensure this mistake does not occur in the future.
Iowa Code section 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and could have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. This complaint does meet these requirements, but the end result of this complaint is that the City eventually retrieved and provided the requested records..
IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 22FC:0005 is dismissed as harmless error pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.8(2) and Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(2)(b).
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-2.1(3), the IPIB may “delegate acceptance or dismissal of a complaint to the executive director, subject to review by the board.” The IPIB will review this Order on March 17, 2022. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.
By the IPIB Executive Director
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Margaret E. Johnson, J.D.
1. Ms. Morresi also requested a copy of the budget, which was posted on the City website on February 16, 2022, and included with the second response from the City.
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent by electronic mail on the ___ day of March, 2022, to:
Giada Morresi
Carol Moser, legal counsel for the City of Des Moines