BackThe question of what constitutes a 24-hour notice to the public under Iowa’s open-meetings law became an issue of contention a few days ago. On 15 October 2013 at 3 p.m., the city of Sanborn posted notice that it would conduct a meeting at 5 p.m. the following day in order to discuss gender balance on its electric and telecommunications board. The notice, however, was located on a bulletin board inside the City Hall instead of an outward facing window like regular council agenda meeting notices. The building was locked at 5 p.m. and didn’t open until 8 a.m. the next morning, which gave reason for a complaint brought forward to the Ombudsman by a Sanborn resident.
One month later the Iowa Public Information Board, an enforcement body of the state’s public meeting and open record laws, dismissed the complaint and voted unanimously in favour of a ruling according to which the city of Sanborn met the law’s requirement when it posted a council meeting notice in a place accessible to the public 11 hours and not necessarily 24 business hours before the meeting, a period that could span nearly three calendar days in some cases. Otherwise there would be hardships for governments, particularly for last-minute items or matters that require expediency.
Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider warned that the Board’s ruling opens the door for Iowa governments to elude the requirements of the law, whose intention it is that the information must be easily accessible to the public for at least 24 hours before meetings are held. A building that is closed for 15 of these 24 hours certainly fails to meet the criterion. Further clarification of the meaning of the 24-hour-notice by the courts or lawmakers will be needed.
