HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 22-167Prepared by: Susan Dulek, First Ass't. City Attorney, 410 E. Washington St., Iowa City, IA 52240-319-356-5030
Resolution No. 22-167
Resolution adopting a public records policy and rescinding Resolution
No. 07-260.
Whereas, Iowa Code § 22.1(2) provides each governmental body shall delegate to particular
officials and employees the responsibility for implementing the requirements of Chapter 22
regarding the examination of public records and the governmental body shall publicly announce
the particular officials or employees to whom responsibility to implement the requirements of
Chapter 22 has been delegated; and
Whereas, Iowa Code § 22.1(3) defines public records" as "all records, documents, tape, or other
information stored or preserved in any medium, or belonging" to the City of Iowa City; and
Whereas, Resolution No. 07-260 adopted the Public Records Policy of the City of Iowa City; and
Whereas, said policy needs to be amended to be consistent with SF 2322 passed in May 2022;
and
Whereas, said policy needs to be updated to reflect changes that have occurred in the past
fifteen (15) years such as the implementation of the City's online records request portal and the
renaming of City departments; and
Whereas, it is in the best interest of the public and City staff to have a single, uniform policy
applicable to all City offices and departments; and
Whereas, the City Council finds that the attached Public Records Policy of the City of Iowa City
should be adopted.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Iowa City, Iowa:
1. The attached Public Records Policy of the City of Iowa City is adopted as the policy of
the City of Iowa City for the examination and copying of public records.
2. Resolution No. 07-260 is rescinded.
3. The City Manager is authorized to make minor administrative changes to the Public
Records Policy of the City of Iowa City, such as the renaming of a City department or
division.
Passed and approved this 12th day of July , 2022.
Resolution No. 22-167
Page 2
Attest: l.�n..v
City Clerk
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M
Approved by
City Attorne s ice
(Sue Dulek — 07/06/2022)
It was moved by Harmsen and seconded by
adopted, and upon roll call there was:
AYES:
x
x
x
Taylor the Resolution be
NAYS: ABSENT:
Alter
Bergus
Harmsen
Taylor
Teague
Thomas
Weiner
Public Records Policy of the City of Iowa City (rev. 7/22)
1. Statement of Policy. The purpose of this policy is to facilitate broad access to public
records. The City is committed to the policies set forth in Iowa Code Chapter 22 as
amended. City staff shall cooperate with members of the public in implementing the
provisions of that chapter.
2. Custodian. For purposes of this policy, "Custodian" means the person lawfully
delegated by the City to act for the City in implementing Iowa Code Chapter 22. As
designated in Resolution No. 22-167the Custodians are:
Airport Manager - Municipal Airport
City Manager -City Manager's Office
City Clerk -City Clerk's Office
City Attorney -City Attorney's Office
Personnel Administrator -Human Resources Division
Human Rights Coordinator -Human Rights Division
Finance Director -Finance Department
Fire Chief -Fire Department
Police Chief -Police Department
Library Director -Public Library
Transportation Director- Transportation Department
Parks and Recreation Director- Parks and Recreation Department
NDS Director -Neighborhood and Development Services Department
Public Works Director -Public Works Department
Senior Center Coordinator -Senior Center
3. Location of Record. A request for access to a record should be directed to the
Department Head, Director, or Coordinator of the particular City office where the record
is kept. The requester may contact the Public Safety Information Officer for records of
the Police Department or Fire Department. Records of a City board or commission are
maintained in the office of the Department that staffs the board or commission and the
person designated in paragraph 2 as the Custodian of the Records of that Department
shall be the Custodian of the board or commission's records. If the location of the record
is not known by the requestor, the request shall be directed to the City Clerk.
4. Office Hours. Requests for access to public records may be made online at iowa-
city.org/Forms/PublicRecordsRequest. Requests also may be made in writing, in
person, by e-mail, by fax, by telephone, or by social media. The request should identify
the particular records by name or description to facilitate the location of the record. A
person shall not be required to explain why the record is being requested or provide the
requester's name. Although the requester is not required to provide the requester's
name, requestors shall provide contact information for the provision of responses and to
communicate cost estimates and clarifying questions if the request is not made in
person.
5. Response. A public records response shall be acknowledged in writing, where contact
information has been provided, within two business days after receipt by the Custodian.
An acknowledgment must include the name and contact information of the person
responsible for processing the public records request.
Access to a public record shall be provided promptly upon request unless the size or
nature of the request makes prompt access infeasible. Absent unusual circumstances,
access shall be provided within ten (10) business days from the date the request is
received by the Custodian. If the size or nature of the request for access to a record
requires time for compliance, the Custodian shall comply with the request within twenty
(20) calendar days, unless infeasible. Access to a record may be delayed for one of the
purposes authorized by Iowa Code section 22.8(4) or 22.10(4), as amended. The
Custodian shall promptly give notice to the requestor of the reason for any delay in
access to a public record and an estimate of the length of that delay and, upon request,
shall promptly provide that notice to the requestor in writing which includes electronic
mail.
6. Denial. The Custodian may deny access to the record only on the grounds that such a
denial is warranted under by Iowa Code section 22.8(4) or 22.10(4), as amended, or that
it is a confidential record, or that its disclosure is prohibited by a court order or other
applicable law.
7. Security of Record. No person may, without permission from the Custodian, search or
remove any record from the City's files. Examination of City records shall be supervised
by the Custodian or a designee of the Custodian. Copying of City records shall be done
by the Custodian or designee. Records shall be protected from damage and
disorganization.
8. Fees.
Reproduction. The charge for copies of records and documents shall be as follows:
a. Photocopy $ .15 per page
b. Large Document copy (e.g., plat) $ 1.50 per page
C. DVD -R $ 1.00 each
d. Thumb drive $10.00 each
Postage. When the mailing of copies is requested, the actual cost of such mailing may
be charged to the requestor.
Search and Retrieval. No charge will be made for the first thirty (30) minutes for the
services of staff in research and retrieval of records. Retrievals of more than thirty (30)
minutes will be assessed in quarter-hour intervals at the rate of $5.00 per quarter hour.
Supervisory Fee. An hourly fee will be charged for actual City expenses in supervising
the examination and copying of requested records when the supervision time required is
in excess of thirty (30) minutes. Supervision of more than thirty (30) minutes will be
assessed in quarter-hour intervals at the rate of $5.00 per quarter-hour.
City Attorney Review Fee. To determine whether confidential documents are included in
the request, a fee will be assessed in quarter-hour intervals based on the hourly rate not
including benefits of the reviewing attorney for the redaction or review of legally
protected confidential information.
Advance Deposits. When the estimated total fee chargeable under this policy exceeds
$25, the Custodian may require the requestor to make an advance payment to cover the
estimated fee. When a requestor has previously failed to pay a fee chargeable under
this policy, the Custodian shall require payment of the previous fee as well as advance
payment of any estimated fee before the Custodian processes a new request from that
requestor regardless of the amount. Each department is responsible for collecting any
applicable fee and providing an appropriate receipt.
Overtime. If the services requested cannot be completed during regular office hours, a
person may request that work be completed after hours. The charge will be the actual
overtime paid to the person providing the assistance. The decision to authorize overtime
shall be made by the Department Director or Supervisor, and there is no guarantee that
the records will be provided in the time requested.
Certified Copies. Certified copies of public documents in the City Clerk's office may be
made only at the time the photocopy is made by the City Clerk.
Electronic Data. The City is not required under Chapter 22 to provide the public with
access to City software, but must allow access to records that are combined with its data
processing software. If it is necessary to separate the record from the software to
provide access, the City shall bear the cost of the separation. After the record has been
separated, any additional fees (e.g., photocopying) shall be as provided herein. If the
person requests that the record be specially processed, the fee for doing so shall be
assessed in quarter-hour intervals at the rate of $11.00 per quarter-hour.
9. Confidential Records.
a. Basis. The Custodian may treat a record as a confidential record and withhold it
from examination only to the extent that the Custodian is authorized by Iowa
Code section 22.7, as amended, another applicable provision of law, or court
order to refuse to disclose that record to members of the public. In the event that
the request is not sufficiently definite to determine whether confidential
documents are included, the City Attorney, or designee, will need to review the
documents, and the fee for said review is listed in Paragraph 8 above.
b. Access to Confidential Records. Under Iowa Code section 22.7, as amended, or
other applicable provision of law, the Custodian may disclose certain confidential
records to one or more members of the public on a discretionary basis. In
requesting the Custodian to permit the examination and copying of such a
confidential record, the following procedures apply and are in addition to those
specified for request for access to records provided above.
(1) Proof of identity. The Custodian may require the person requesting the
confidential record to provide proof of identity or authority to secure
access to the record.
(2) Requests. The Custodian may require a request to examine and copy a
confidential record to be in writing. A person requesting access to such a
record may be required to sign a certified statement or affidavit
enumerating the specific reasons justifying access to the confidential
record and to provide any proof deemed necessary by the Custodian to
establish relevant facts.
C. Request denied. When the Custodian denies a request for access to a
confidential record, the Custodian shall promptly notify the requestor. If the
requestor indicates to the Custodian that a written notification of the denial is
desired, the Custodian shall promptly provide such a notification that is signed by
the Custodian or is sent from the Custodian's assigned email address, or that of
the City Attorney's office, and includes:
(1) The name and title or position of the Custodian responsible for the denial;
and
(2) A citation to the provision of Chapter 22 of the Iowa Code and/or any
other law vesting authority in the Custodian to deny disclosure of the
record and a brief statement of the reason for the denial to the requestor.
d. Request granted. When the Custodian grants a request for access to a
confidential record to a particular person, the Custodian shall state any lawful
restrictions imposed by the Custodian on that person's examination and copying
of the record.
e. Request that record be treated as confidential record. A request that a record be
treated as a confidential record and withheld from public inspection shall be in
writing if the Custodian so requests. The request shall set forth the legal and
factual basis justifying the request and the name, mailing address, email
address, and telephone number of a person authorized to respond to any inquiry
or action of the Custodian concerning the request. Failure to make such a
request does not preclude the Custodian from treating it as a confidential record.
If the request is denied, the Custodian shall notify the requestor of the
determination and the reasons therefore. On application by the requestor, the
Custodian may engage in a good faith, reasonable delay in allowing examination
of the record so that the requestor may seek injunctive relief under Iowa Code
section 22.8, as amended, or other applicable law. The Custodian shall notify
requestor in writing of the time period allowed to seek injunctive relief.
Third Party. A person who is the subject of a confidential record may request
that the record be disclosed to a third party. Said request must be in writing and
must identity the particular record or records that may be disclosed, and the
particular person or class of persons to whom the record may be disclosed.
Such request does not require the disclosure of the record by the Custodian.
Appearance of counsel on behalf of a person who is the subject of a confidential
record is deemed to constitute consent for the City to disclose records about that
person to the person's attorney.
10. Redaction of a Record. The Custodian may redact from a record any information that is
confidential under state or federal law, such as a Social Security Number.
11. Creation of a Record. If the Custodian determines that it may be more feasible,
economical, or otherwise reasonable that a response to a request may be better met by
the creation of a record, such as a report or a document that does not presently exist,
and that would be produced as a result of research or analysis, the Custodian may, but
will not be required, to notify the requestor of that determination. The Custodian may
advise the requestor of the actual cost of creating and providing such document that
does not currently exist. The Custodian and the requester may in such instance, but will
not be required to, agree to approve such document in exchange for the actual cost in
lieu of providing access to the records originally requested. In absence of such
agreement, records will be made available as provided in this policy. Likewise,
Custodians are not required to do research for requestors, other than providing existing
records subject to disclosure under law.
Adopted by Resolution No. 05-67 on February 1, 2005.
Amended by Resolution No. 06-364 on November 20, 2006.
Amended by Resolution No. 07-260 on August 21, 2007.
Amended by Resolution No. 22-_ on July 12, 2022.