Date:
12/15/2022
Subject:
Sam Willson/Louisa Co. Conservation Board - Informal Resolution Report
Opinion:
Before The Iowa Public Information Board
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In re the Matter of: Sam Willson, Complainant And Concerning: Louisa County Conservation Board, Respondent |
Case Number: 22FC:0107
Informal Resolution Report
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COMES NOW, Margaret E. Johnson, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and respectfully submits this report concerning the informal resolution.
Sam Willson filed formal complaint 22FC:0107 with the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB) on October 3, 2022, alleging that the Louisa County Conservation Board (Board) violated Iowa Code chapter 21 on September 19, 2022.
Mr. Willson alleged that a majority of Board members met on this date without posting a notice or taking minutes. He provided the names of the members involved and the location of the gathering (the Louisa County Conservation Board maintenance shed), but no other details.
The director of the Board responded to the complaint on October 18, 2022. She indicated that she, as director of the Board, met with a potential vendor to discuss a bid for a Board project on September 19, 2022. They met at the site of a building that they wanted to move to the site of the Board maintenance shop.
As she traveled to this site, the director contacted a Board member to unlock the building to be moved. This Board member arrived and brought a second Board member with him. After reviewing the building, the director, vendor, and two Board members then traveled to the Board shop site, about one-quarter mile away.
The shop site is within eyesight of the Louisa County secondary roads department. Another Board member works for secondary roads. While the two Board members were at the shop site, this Board member saw the group from her window and came to see what was going on.
The Board director stated that this was not intended to be a meeting. No action was taken or decisions made by the three Board members.
The Board is composed of five members. According to the Board website, there is currently a vacancy on the Board. Three members would be a majority. The October 3, 2022, Board minutes addressed the September 19, 2022, gathering and warned that although it was an unintentional meeting, it “violated the open meeting laws.”
The actual discussion and vote on the bid to move a building to Board property occurred on October 10, 2022, at a properly noticed open meeting.
Iowa Code section 21.2(2) defines a meeting:
2. “Meeting” means a gathering in person or by electronic means, formal or informal, of a majority of the members of a governmental body where there is deliberation or action upon any matter within the scope of the governmental body’s policy-making duties. Meetings shall not include a gathering of members of a governmental body for purely ministerial or social purposes when there is no discussion of policy or no intent to avoid the purposes of this chapter.
While reviewing the Board minutes, it appears that the minutes approved by the Board do not meet the requirements of Iowa Code section 21.3:
Each governmental body shall keep minutes of all its meetings showing the date, time and place, the members present, and the action taken at each meeting. The minutes shall show the results of each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the vote of each member present. The vote of each member present shall be made public at the open session. The minutes shall be public records open to public inspection.
The minutes list the names of the Board members making and seconding a motion, but do not “indicate the vote of each member present.” Board training can be arranged as part of the informal resolution process pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.9.
The IPIB accepted this complaint on November 17, 2022. Pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.9, the parties approved an Informal Resolution with the following terms:
- The Board will acknowledge that a gathering of a majority of the members of Board meets the definition of the meeting if deliberation or action occurs on any matter within the scope of the Board’s policy-making duties.
- The Board will ensure that future Board meeting minutes follow the requirements of Iowa Code chapter 21.
- The Board will schedule and hold a training session concerning the requirements of Iowa Code chapter 21. The training will be open to the public. The Board can arrange the training with the assistance of the County Attorney’s office or the Louisa County Board of Supervisors. The powerpoint presentation available on the IPIB website can be used as training materials.
- The Board will approve this informal resolution in an open meeting and include the entire text of the informal resolution in the Board minutes.
The terms of the Informal Resolution will be completed within 90 days of the approval by all parties. Upon successful completion of the terms, the IPIB will dismiss this complaint.
The Board approved the Informal Resolution on December 5, 2022. Mr. Willson approved the Informal Resolution on December 7, 2022.
It is recommended that the IPIB approve the proposed Informal Resolution, direct the IPIB chair to sign the informal resolution, and set the matter for compliance review in accordance with the terms of the informal resolution.
Respectfully submitted,
Margaret E. Johnson, J.D.
Executive Director
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent by electronic mail on the ___ day of December, 2022, to:
Sam Willson
Louisa County Conservation Board