Davenport trustees hear city legal memo, keep notary services but seek clearer procedures

Davenport — City legal counsel Sam Huff told the Davenport Public Library Board of Trustees on Dec. 16 that a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling narrows the availability of qualified immunity for municipal employees but does not, in his assessment, eliminate routine public notary services. "The takeaway is, these cases really do not affect notary services," Huff said, while warning that qualified immunity will not be available as a defense for ordinary negligence claims.

Huff walked trustees through three hypotheticals to show the practical difference between an ordinary mistake and intentional misconduct. In one scenario, a notary who follows policy but misses an incomplete field on an affidavit could face a negligence claim; in such cases the city typically covers the employee through indemnification, Huff said. In a second scenario — notarizing without proper identification or backdating a certificate — Huff said the library could argue those actions fall outside policy and might not be covered by the city.

Trustees asked about scale and staffing. Jeff Collins, the library director, said about 21 employees currently serve as commissioned notaries and reported approximately 2,400 notarizations in fiscal year 2025 (roughly 150–200 per month). Board members said those volumes and the public value of the service argue for keeping it available while reducing staff anxiety through clearer guidance and training. "If it's in a procedure that says we only notarize these documents, that's good enough," Huff said, noting a department-level procedure can provide the necessary guardrails without requiring a board-adopted policy.

Trustees discussed possible changes including limiting the types of documents the library will notarize, clarifying when notary duties end relative to staff shifts, offering training from the attorney's office for staff who provide notary services, and whether to allow employees to opt out of providing notary services. Collins warned that broad opt-out options could degrade service for the public because the library currently offers walk-in notary service up to 30 minutes before closing.

Huff recommended that the library keep the service but tighten procedures and educate staff so they understand when a particular notarization falls within the city's liability protection. He also offered to deliver the same presentation to staff and to help draft or review procedures if requested. Trustees did not take formal action at the meeting but asked staff to follow up on procedure language and training options.

The board's discussion underscored the difference between policy (board-level rules) and procedure (department-level steps) and the practical steps managers can take to reduce risk while continuing to serve residents who rely on free or low-cost notary access.