Iowa's transparency board to ombudsman: Our secret meeting is off limits to you

An Iowa board responsible for enforcing government transparency on Thursday denied the state’s ombudsman access to audio from an Aug. 25 meeting that records advocates contend was illegally confidential.

The Iowa Public Information Board is believed to be the first government body in state history to deny the ombudsman access to confidential meeting records by citing attorney-client privilege as a reason to withhold the records, according to ombudsman attorney Andy Teas.

Bert Dalmer, an investigator for the Iowa Ombudsman, called the move "an affront to accountability." He said Iowa has legal safeguards that would make sure that records obtained by the ombudsman wouldn't be released to others.

“In a democracy, government has to be held accountable,” Dalmer said.

The confidential meeting

The information board met Aug. 25 to discuss a contentious records case involving the 2015 accidental fatal shooting of Autumn Steele in front of her toddler by a Burlington policeman.

It cited rules in Iowa’s open-meeting laws that allow government officials to meet privately to discuss ongoing litigation in closed session.

When the board resumed the public portion of its meeting, its members offered no discussion. Instead, they voted 7-0 to “to proceed in accordance with discussion in closed session.”

They wouldn't say anything more about the vote.

Iowa’s public meetings law requires that final actions be made in public.

Herb Strentz, a retired Drake University journalism professor, filed a complaint against the board with the Iowa Ombudsman, alleging the meeting was illegal.

In response, the ombudsman has requested a copy of the audio to help it determine whether the board acted inappropriately.

The ombudsman's office does not release records it collects during its investigations but it can make recommendations and publishes reports of its findings in its role as a government watchdog.

Board's reasoning

The Iowa Legislature expressively gave the Iowa Ombudsman access to closed-session records in 2015 after objections to their release had been made by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller.

Information board member Julie Pottorff — a retired attorney for the Attorney General who was appointed to the board by former Gov. Terry Branstad — lobbied the board Thursday to deny making the audio of the meeting available to the ombudsman.

Pottorff said the release could set a poor precedent because — potentially — the governor’s office or lawmakers could demand access to the audio, even though Dalmer and an attorney for the Ombudsman made note of a district court ruling that maintained Ombudsman records are confidential — even if requested by the governor.

Pottorff noted she and other board members have answered questioned posed to them by the ombudsman’s office on the matter.

“So we are not trying to stonewall, or be difficult and not assist you, but I think it goes too far to ask us to waive attorney-client privilege,” Pottorff said.

The board voted 7-2 in favor of keeping the audio secret from the ombudsman. The two who voted against Pottorff's motion were members Rick Morain and Mary Ungs-Sogaard.

The ombudsman will review whether it might challenge the board’s refusal to provide the audio, Teas said.

The Iowa Newspaper Association’s government relations committee also will meet to discuss the matter, said Susan Patterson Plank, the group’s director.

Randy Evans, director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, said the Information Board’s actions — if upheld — could set a precedent allowing governments to evade review by the ombudsman.

“I would say 95 percent of closed sessions held by Iowa boards are with an attorney present,” Evans said. “This just renders useless what the legislature wrote into the law to allow the ombudsman’s office access.”