Iowa Supreme Court ruling involving Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission could set important standards for Iowa's Open Meetings Law

An Iowa Supreme Court ruling involving a lawsuit against Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission of Decorah and Postville may set an important standard in regard to the state's Open Meetings Law.

On Friday the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a District Court's ruling that volunteers working for Upper Explorerland had immunity against being required to pay financial damages for Open Meetings Law violations and also ruled that Upper Explorerland met its obligation to publish the names and salaries of its employees by publishing such information in the Oelwein Daily Register.

But on a third point of contention in the lawsuit, the justices ordered a retrial at the District Court level.  At issue was the question of whether posting meeting notices for the UERPC Board on a bulletin board located in the hallway of the Commission's Postville office satisfied the requirements of the Iowa Open Meetings Law.  The bulletin board is approximately 30 to 40feet from the main public access door.

The Supreme Court called posting meeting notices in a location where the public could see them "a critical mechanism for ensuring government transparency."  Justices noted that such a requirement "prevent(s) councils of governments from becoming secret or star chambers."

The issue is whether the placement of the notice in the hallway is a "prominent place which is easily accessible to the public and clearly designated for that purpose at the principal office of the body holding the meeting."  Justices concluded that "The public generally does not utilize the hallway where the bulletin board is located, unless the individual has an appointment or uses the restroom."  Therefore, they ordered the district court to retry the issue.