Iowa Public Information Board
On January 1, 2026, Jacob Hall (“Complainant”) filed formal complaint 26FC:0006, alleging that the Sioux Center Public Library (“Respondent”) violated Iowa Code Chapter 22.
IPIB accepted this complaint at its meeting on February 19, 2026.
Facts
Complainant alleged that the Sioux Center Public Library public record policy violated Chapter 22 by charging the public impermissible types of legal fees.
Law
“The examination and copying of public records shall be done under the supervision of the lawful custodian of the records or the custodian’s authorized designee. The lawful custodian shall not require the physical presence of a person requesting or receiving a copy of a public record and shall fulfill requests for a copy of a public record received in writing, by telephone, or by electronic means. Although fulfillment of a request for a copy of a public record may be contingent upon receipt of payment of reasonable expenses, the lawful custodian shall make every reasonable effort to provide the public record requested at no cost other than copying costs for a record which takes less than thirty minutes to produce. In the event expenses are necessary, such expenses shall be reasonable and communicated to the requester upon receipt of the request. A person may contest the reasonableness of the custodian's expenses as provided for in this chapter. The lawful custodian may adopt and enforce reasonable rules regarding the examination and copying of the records and the protection of the records against damage or disorganization. The lawful custodian shall provide a suitable place for the examination and copying of the records, but if it is impracticable to do the examination and copying of the records in the office of the lawful custodian, the person desiring to examine or copy shall pay any necessary expenses of providing a place for the examination and copying.
All reasonable expenses of the examination and copying shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy. The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for the services of the lawful custodian or the custodian’s authorized designee in supervising the examination and copying of the records. If copy equipment is available at the office of the lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of a fee. The fee for the copying service as determined by the lawful custodian shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Actual costs shall include only those reasonable expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records. Actual costs shall not include charges for ordinary expenses or costs such as employment benefits, depreciation, maintenance, electricity, or insurance associated with the administration of the office of the lawful custodian. Costs for legal services should only be utilized for the redaction or review of legally protected confidential information. However, a county recorder shall not charge a fee for the examination and copying of public records necessary to complete and file claims for benefits with the Iowa department of veterans affairs or the United States department of veterans affairs.” Iowa Code 22.3(1)-(2).
Procedure
IPIB accepted this complaint on February 19, 2026. Upon acceptance, the parties worked toward an informal resolution.
Complainant approved the informal resolution terms on April 8, 2026.
Respondent approved the terms of the informal resolution on May 18, 2026 at a city council meeting.
IPIB approved the informal resolution report on May 21, 2026 at a regular meeting.
All terms of the Informal Resolution have been met. IPIB staff recommend this Final Report be adopted and the complaint be dismissed as resolved.
By the IPIB Deputy Director
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Charissa Flege
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent on June 16, 2026, to:
Jacob Hall, Complainant
Sioux Center Public Library, Respondent