Advisory Opinion 24AO:0001
DATE: January 3, 2024
SUBJECT: Chapter 21 requirements for “work sessions”
This opinion concerns the open meeting requirements for work sessions under Iowa Code § 21.3. Advisory opinions may be adopted by the board pursuant to Iowa Code section 23.6(3) and Rule 497–1.2(2): “[t]he board may on its own motion issue opinions without receiving a formal request.” We note at the outset that IPIB’s jurisdiction is limited to the application of Iowa Code chapters 21, 22, and 23, and rules in Iowa Administrative Code chapter 497. Advice in a Board opinion, if followed, constitutes a defense to a subsequent complaint based on the same facts and circumstances.
QUESTION POSED:
I am looking for an opinion on what information is required to be kept during budget sessions and work sessions for counties. Are they required to keep minutes or record the sessions? I am very interested when it comes to counties and cities and what the practice should be. I have heard that elected officials, specifically our county auditor, have removed staff from meetings in our county and told that the following information they were not allowed to hear. This comes directly from another elected county official. It is my understanding that this budget work session meeting was open to the public. Do these meetings also require notice?
OPINION:
The first question is whether a “work session” or a “budget session”[1] is a meeting under Iowa Code chapter 21.
A “‘[m]eeting’ 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.” Iowa Code § 21.2.
A work session or budget session would qualify as a meeting under Iowa Code chapter 21 when the following factors exist. These are:
- Members of a governmental body, as defined under Iowa Code § 21.2, meet;
- This meeting is in person or by electronic means;
- A majority of the governmental body is in attendance;
- There is deliberation or action taken by the body; and
- The deliberation or action is within the body’s policy-making duties.
A session to work on the budget in which a majority of the governmental body members attend, would likely be considered a meeting under Iowa Code § 21.2. It would be difficult to find that a meeting to discuss the county budget, a key responsibility of the board,[2] would not require deliberation on a topic clearly within that government body’s policy-making duties.
In Hawkeye Communications, Inc. v. Carlson, 2005 WL 3940279 (Iowa App. Dec. 21, 2005), the appellate court affirmed a violation of Iowa Code chapter 21 when a majority of the county board of supervisors met in two improperly noticed meetings to work on the county budget. The supervisors argued there should be no violation of the open meetings law because no formal action was taken until the rescheduled and noticed meeting that afternoon. The court rejected the argument and held that the gatherings were “meetings” under Iowa Code chapter 21 because they were gatherings of a majority of the government body in which they deliberated on the county budget, which is a topic within the scope of the board of supervisors’ policy-making duties.
When a “work session” or a “budget session” is a meeting, what notice is required under Iowa Code chapter 21? [3]
“Meetings of governmental bodies shall be preceded by public notice as provided in section 21.4.” Iowa Code § 21.3(1). The violation in Hawkeye Communications occurred because the board had provided notice that the meeting would be rescheduled, but the board of supervisors met at the previously scheduled meeting time anyway. A work session is a meeting that requires appropriate notice under Iowa Code § 21.4.
“[A] governmental body shall give notice of the time, date, and place of each meeting including a reconvened meeting of the governmental body, and the tentative agenda of the meeting, in a manner reasonably calculated to apprise the public of that information. Reasonable notice shall include advising the news media who have filed a request for notice with the governmental body and posting the notice on a bulletin board or other prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding the meeting, or if no such office exists, at the building in which the meeting is to be held.” Iowa Code § 21.4(1). “[N]otice conforming with all of the requirements of subsection 1 shall be given at least twenty-four hours prior to the commencement of any meeting of a governmental body unless for good cause such notice is impossible or impractical, in which case as much notice as is reasonably possible shall be given.” Iowa Code § 21.4(2)(a).
Notice for a work session must be provided at least twenty-four hours in advance of the meeting and must include the date, time, and place of the meeting as well as information about all items to be considered by the government body in a way the public has notice regarding what will be discussed at the meeting.
Who may attend a “work session” or a “budget session”?
No matter what the gathering is called, if there is deliberation or action upon any matter within the scope of the body’s policy-making duties by a majority of the members, it is considered a meeting and must be open.
“Meetings of governmental bodies … shall be held in open session unless closed sessions are expressly permitted by law. Except as provided in section 21.5, all actions and discussions at meetings of governmental bodies, whether formal or informal, shall be conducted and executed in open session.” Iowa Code § 21.3(1). “‘Open session’ means a meeting to which all members of the public have access.” Iowa Code § 21.2(3).
“The purpose of open meetings statutes is to require meetings of governmental bodies to be open and permit the public to be present.” KCOB/KLVN, Inc. v. Jasper Cnty. Bd. of Sup'rs, 473 N.W.2d 171, 173 (Iowa 1991) (citing Dobrovolny v. Reinhardt, 173 N.W.2d 837, 840–41 (Iowa 1970)). A work session or a budget session that qualifies as a meeting must be conducted as an open session (absent any qualification for holding a closed session). As an open session, all members of the public who choose to attend must be given access.
Is the government body required to keep minutes?
Iowa Code § 21.3(2) requires that “[e]ach 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.” (emphasis added).
If a chapter 21 meeting occurs, minutes of that meeting must be taken.
Is a meeting required to be recorded?
There is no requirement under Iowa Code chapter 21 to record any open session of a government body.
BY DIRECTION AND VOTE OF THE BOARD:
Daniel Breitbarth
Joan Corbin
E.J. Giovannetti
Barry Lindahl
Joel McCrea
Monica McHugh
Julie Pottorff
Jackie Schmillen
SUBMITTED BY:
Erika Eckley, J.D.
Executive Director
Iowa Public Information Board
ISSUED ON:
February 15, 2024
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-1.3(3), a person who has received a board opinion may, within 30 days after the issuance of the opinion, request modification or reconsideration of the opinion. A request for modification or reconsideration shall be deemed denied unless the board acts upon the request within 60 days of receipt of the request. The IPIB may take up modification or reconsideration of an advisory opinion on its own motion within 30 days after the issuance of an opinion.
Pursuant to Iowa Administrative Rule 497-1.3(5), a person who has received a board opinion or advice may petition for a declaratory order pursuant to Iowa Code section 17A.9. The IPIB may refuse to issue a declaratory order to a person who has previously received a board opinion on the same question, unless the requestor demonstrates a significant change in circumstances from those in the board opinion.
[1] There are specific notice and public meeting requirements for finalizing and approving budgets by local governments outside chapter 21, which are beyond the jurisdiction of the Iowa Public Information Board. This advisory opinion is focused on meetings of government bodies to prepare and deliberate on the budget or other types of meetings in which there is deliberation on policy issues by a government body.
[2] See Iowa Code § 331.434.
[3] This advisory opinion is regarding work sessions to develop a budget or other policy, but just as a reminder “the notice requirements for a public meeting under Iowa Code § 21.4 do not take the place of the notice requirements under Iowa Code § 331.434 concerning public hearings although the reverse is true.” 15AO:0002 Is Chapter 21 Public Meeting Notice the Same as Notice Required for a County Public Hearing?