24FC:0068 Drake Riddle/Page County Board of Supervisors - Acceptance Order

Date:
10/17/2024

Subject:
Drake Riddle/Page County Board of Supervisors  - 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 August 8, 2024, Drake Riddle filed formal complaint 24FC:0068, alleging the Page County Board of Supervisors (County) violated Iowa Code Chapters 21.

Facts

The complaint alleges that the County violated Chapter 21 by failing to record accurate minutes.

The County held a meeting on July 11, 2024. During the meeting, the County approved a commercial liquor license. Two of the supervisors voted yes to approve the liquor license. One of the supervisors abstained from the vote. The minutes inaccurately recorded the supervisor as voting no instead of abstaining and reflected the County unanimously moved the vote.

Riddle filed this complaint on August 8, 2024. 

The Chair of the Page County Board of Supervisors responded on August 16, 2024. The response stated as follows: 

The Page County Board of Supervisors has reviewed the complaint case # 24FC:0068. The board agrees with the complainant, and the evidence provided shows that the meeting minutes from July 11, 2024 do not meet Iowa code. We would like to expedite this process as the minutes for our board have caused conflict over both content and responsibility on a near weekly basis for over a year. We would like training for the board and the clerk, and the IPIB’s help in drafting an official minutes policy. The guidance and opportunity to create policy and procedures to help avoid this conflict and ensure appropriate and legal minutes moving forward is greatly appreciated.

This was approved by the Board on a 2-1 vote. It is unclear in the minutes what this action represents. It is not identified as a resolution or any other form of action.

The County Auditor’s Office responded on August 29, 2024, and indicated an error was made in the minutes. The County Auditor’s Office indicated that the minutes had been corrected. A copy of the corrected minutes was included within the response and IPIB staff verified the posting of correct minutes on the County’s website.

Applicable Law

Iowa Code § 21.3(2) requires governmental bodies keep minutes of meetings that show the results of each vote taken and information sufficient to indicate the vote of each member.

Analysis

An error was appropriately identified by Riddle. The County Auditor’s Office corrected the minutes and posted the corrected minutes on the County website. Although the minutes were corrected and reposted, the amended minutes were not reviewed or approved by the Board of Supervisors. This is a concerning practice.

Upon review of this case, IPIB staff identified an additional issue of concern: The County produces two sets of minutes for each meeting. This is an example taken from the minutes of the meeting held on October 3, 2024:

Holmes passed out his rewritten minutes from September 19th.  On a motion by Maher, seconded by Holmes, the board moved to approve the amended minutes from September 19th and the minutes as written from September 23rd and September 26th to meet Iowa Public Information Board guidelines as presented to the clerk in this meeting and these minutes to be published into the Page County Board of Supervisors Minute Book.  Roll call; Maher, aye, Holmes, aye, Clark, nay.  Motion carried 2-1.

This is an unfortunate practice that appears to occur because of a disagreement between members of governmental bodies in Page County about whether the auditor gets to produce the minutes in the format the Auditor prefers or whether the Board controls the format and approval of the minutes for their meetings. The result has been that the Auditor publishes the minutes as preferred by the Auditor[1] and ignores the minutes approved by the Board in their meetings that are to be placed in the Minutes Book. The result is that it is uncertain which minutes are actually the official minutes of the County. In addition, it appears that the Board of Supervisors is not reviewing or approving amendments to the minutes. IPIB cannot ignore a practice that impacts the ability of the public to access and understand actions taken by the County on a matter mandated by Iowa Code § 21.3. 

In response to this Complaint, training has been requested by members of the governmental body regarding Chapters 21 and 22. Another member of the Board has indicated a refusal to attend trainings. Due to the production of two sets of minutes, no approval of amended minutes by the governmental body, and the lack of cooperation by one of the members of the Board, IPIB recommends acceptance of this case to further review practices utilized by governmental bodies in Page County. 

Conclusion

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 facts and circumstances, it is found that this complaint should be accepted.

The County is currently creating two sets of minutes for each meeting of the Board of Supervisors and one of member of the governmental body has refused to engage in training. IPIB staff recommends acceptance of this case to further review the County’s practices. 

IT IS SO ORDERED:  Formal complaint 24FC:0068 is accepted 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 October 17, 2024.  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.

[1] The County Attorney provided a legal opinion based on a 1982 AG opinion 82-1-13. This opinion dealt with a question regarding whether, at the time, the publication requirement allowed a summary or the full text of all resolutions and minutes of the proceeding. It opined the auditor to determine the text and format for publication, available here https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/kmaland.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/2c/c2cd24c6-1674-11ee-99a1-dfef04db0bdd/649d72bb8272b.pdf.pdf.  The Board has a legal opinion relying on a 1992 AG opinion stating the Auditor is a supporting role for the Board and the Board is responsible for the accuracy of its minutes. https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/kmaland.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/23/d2364c34-3dee-11ee-917b-9b0c4442484e/64dfae0e8bb48.pdf.pdf