The Iowa Public Information Board
In re the Matter of: Jason Battin, Complainant And Concerning: City of Mitchellville, Respondent |
Case Number: 26FC:0060 Dismissal Order
|
|---|
COMES NOW, Charlotte Miller, Agency Counsel for the Iowa Public Information Board (IPIB), and enters this Dismissal Order:
On March 1, 2026, Jason Battin (Complainant) filed formal complaint 26FC:0060, alleging that the City of Mitchellville (Respondent) violated Iowa Code Chapter 21.
Facts
At the time of the events alleged in this complaint, Complainant was an employee of the City of Mitchellville. On February 23, 2026, Complainant alleges that the City’s Mayor held a one-on-one meeting with him behind closed doors concerning aspects of his employment. During this session, Complainant alleges that the spouse of a city council member was permitted to enter the office, and the Mayor continued to discuss performance and other personnel matters with them present in the room, despite the spouse having no position of their own in city government or particular connection to the employment matters being discussed.
On March 1, 2026, Complainant filed formal complaint 26FC:0060, alleging that the Mayor’s decision to continue discussing his performance with the third party present violated Chapter 22, as the information covered would have qualified confidential personnel information covered by Iowa Code § 22.7(11). Complainant also asserts a related violation based on Iowa Code § 91B.2(2)(b), based on the knowing disclosure of work-related employee information to a person with no legitimate interest in the information.
Applicable Law
“The following public records shall be kept confidential, unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information:
11. Personal information in confidential personnel records of government bodies relating to identified or identifiable individuals who are officials, officers, or employees of the government bodies.” Iowa Code § 22.7(5).
Analysis
In the context of Chapter 22, the Iowa Supreme Court has held that the “categorical” confidentiality exemption of Iowa Code § 22.7(11) may be properly asserted to withhold employee in-house job performance materials and disciplinary records when this information is sought by a Chapter 22 records request, ACLU Foundation of Iowa, Inc. v. Records Custodian, Atl. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 818 N.W.2d 231, 235 (Iowa 2012). In applying this rule, a record may be entitled to confidentiality even when it is not found in a literal personnel file, as “[t]he nature of the record is not controlled by its place in a filing system.” Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist. Pub. Recs. v. Des Moines Reg. & Trib. Co., 487 N.W.2d 666, 670 (Iowa 1992) (finding that documents assembled as part of an investigation into school district employees were “essentially in-house, job performance documents exempt from disclosure” despite being found in the investigation files).
In this case, however, the complaint does not involve a request for or disclosure of any public record (or information found in any public record). Instead, Complainant asserts that the contents of his verbal performance evaluation contained information which could have qualified as confidential if it were contained in a public record. While other areas of the law may impose additional confidentiality requirements, this places the complaint outside the scope of Chapter 22.
Additionally, even if the complaint alleged the disclosure of a public record, the preamble to Iowa Code § 22.7 provides that confidentiality applies “unless otherwise ordered by a court, by the lawful custodian of the records, or by another person duly authorized to release such information.” See also Nahas v. Polk Cnty., 991 N.W.2d 770, 783–84 (Iowa 2023) (“The exceptions listed in section 22.7 are not a basis for requiring the disclosure of documents. Rather, they allow a lawful custodian of government documents to refuse to release documents that contain confidential information. Whether the termination letter is confidential or not, Polk County still was not prohibited from releasing it under section 22.7.”), overruled on other grounds by Doe v. W. Dubuque Cmty. Sch. Dist., 20 N.W.3d 798, 806 (Iowa 2025). IPIB has previously held that the disclosure of performance evaluation-style reviews by a lawful custodian or other duly authorized person is not a violation of Chapter 22. 24FC:0119, Tony Reed/Central Iowa Juvenile Detention Center Commission (finding no violation where a commission opted to release a personnel report on its executive director to the public and held a related performance evaluation in open session against the director’s wishes).
Complainant also alleges wrongful disclosure of sensitive personnel information in violation of Iowa Code § 91B.2(2)(b). Because IPIB’s jurisdiction to receive complaints is limited to Chapter 21 and Chapter 22, IPIB lacks the authority to weigh the merits of this portion of the complaint.
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 allegations on their face, it is found that this complaint does not meet those requirements.
The presence of an unrelated third party during a performance evaluation does not present a potential violation of Chapter 22, and alleged violations of Chapter 91B based on improper disclosure of personnel information are outside IPIB’s jurisdiction.
IT IS SO ORDERED: Formal complaint 26FC:0060 is dismissed as it is legally insufficient and outside IPIB’s jurisdiction 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 April 16, 2026. Pursuant to IPIB rule 497-2.1(4), the parties will be notified in writing of its decision.
By the IPIB Executive Director,
_________________________
Charlotte J.M. Miller, J.D.
CERTIFICATE OF MAILING
This document was sent on April 8, 2026, to:
Jason Battin, Complainant