Council discusses risk of ‘walking quorums’ and staff communication procedures

Council members discussed whether one‑on‑one meetings with staff, followed by sharing information to other council members, risk creating a walking quorum and potentially violating Iowa’s open‑meetings rules.

Councilwoman Chudak said staff reports and informal chains of email or verbal updates might “skirt the open meetings laws,” and she suggested a possible solution in which staff prepare brief written summaries after individual council‑staff meetings so the information is shared without triggering a deliberative quorum via email or reply‑all. Other council members expressed concern about inundating staff with mandatory reporting for every informal contact and suggested study sessions could be used more regularly for multi‑member discussions.

City Attorney Mimi agreed to look into the legal obligations under Iowa law and to advise whether a required public disclosure rule would obligate council members to report the content of individual staff meetings at council meetings. Several council members urged a practical approach that preserves transparency while not overburdening staff with reports of every conversation.

There was no formal vote; the council directed the city attorney to research the legal requirements and consider whether department heads should prepare written summaries following individual council‑staff meetings.