23FC:0065: Neetu Arnold/University of Northern Iowa; University of Northern Iowa Foundation- Acceptance Order

Date:
08/17/2023

Subject:
Neetu Arnold/University of Northern Iowa; University of Northern Iowa Foundation-  Acceptance Order

Opinion:

The Iowa Public Information Board

COMES NOW, Erika Eckley, Executive Director for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Acceptance Order:

On June 19, 2023, Neetu Arnold filed formal complaint 23FC:0065, alleging that the University of Northern Iowa violated Iowa Code chapter 22.

Background
On May 25, 2023, the Complainant submitted a public records request to University of Northern Iowa (University) and University of Northern Iowa Foundation (Foundation) for records of all gifts, grants, and contracts of foreign origin that UNI has received from 2010 through 2022.

In response to the request, the University provided the Complainant with a fee estimate. The University estimated that it will take the Foundation 24 hours and the University 40 hours and to produce the records requested. The University therefore estimated that the fees for completing the requests would be $720 (for the Foundation) and $1,200 (for the University). These estimated fees are based on the University’s fee schedule, which is attached to this order as Exhibit A. As shown in Exhibit A, the rate the University charges for public records requests is $30 per hour.

Upon receiving the fee estimate, the Complainant filed this complaint, alleging that the estimated fees are unreasonable.

Analysis
Iowa Code § 22.3 governs the fees that a lawful custodian may charge for the production of public records. Under that section, “[t]he lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for . . . supervising the examination and copying of the records,” and “[a]ll reasonable expenses of the examination and copying shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy.” Iowa Code § 22.3(2).“‘Reasonable’ fees for retrieving a public record are meant only to offset the cost of retrieving, reviewing, and copying the record.” Reasonable Fees for Producing Records Requests, 22 Iowa Pub. Info. Bd. Op. 0003 (citing Rathmann v. Bd. of Directors of Davenport Cmty. Sch. Dist., 580 N.W.2d 773, 778–79 (Iowa 1998).

A records custodian may condition the completion of a records request on the payment of an estimated fee to offset the anticipated cost of retrieving the records, and a requester may contest the reasonableness of this fee estimate. Iowa Code § 22.3(1).

The fees charged for providing copies of public records “shall not exceed the actual cost of providing that service.”  Iowa Code § 22.3(2). Actual costs are “only those reasonable expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records.” Id. Actual costs do not include overhead costs, such as employment benefits, maintenance, electricity, or insurance. Id.

Here, the University charges a flat hourly rate—$30 per hour—for the production of public records. Flat hourly rates are not reflective of the actual cost of making and providing copies of public records because they do not account for the following: 1) which employee or employees will actually produce the records; 2) the hourly compensation of such employees; and 3) the actual cost of the materials used to complete the request (if physical, rather than digital, copies are requested). Therefore, the fee estimates the University provided do not reflect the actual costs of providing copies of the records requested and are not reasonable.

Conclusion
Chapter 22 requires that fees charged for public records requests be reasonable and based on the actual cost of providing the records requested. The fee estimates the University quoted are based on a flat hourly rate the University has chosen, not the anticipated actual costs of completing the request. Therefore, the fee estimates are not reasonable and not based on actual costs.

Iowa Code § 23.8 requires that a complaint be within the IPIB’s jurisdiction, appear legally sufficient, and have merit before the IPIB accepts a complaint. Following a review of the allegations on their face, it is found that this complaint meets those requirements.

IT IS SO ORDERED:  Formal complaint 23FC:0041 is accepted as pursuant to Iowa Code § 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 June 15, 2023.  Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.

By the IPIB Executive Director

_________________________

Erika Eckley, J.D.