Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Records topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City clerk outlines FOIA workload and updates to public‑records policy
Summary
City clerk Brian Crrop told the Davenport City Council the updated public‑records policy (Administrative Policy 5.1) clarifies request methods, fee/deposit rules, a 30‑minute no‑charge threshold per department, two‑year portal retention, and a requirement to provide an estimate for large requests after staff review.
City clerk Brian Crrop briefed the Davenport City Council on March 25 about Iowa open‑records law (Chapter 22) and recent updates to the city’s public‑records procedures.
Crrop said the city receives routine requests (building permits, certificates of occupancy) and increasingly “resource‑demanding” searches. He cited two examples where searches returned thousands of items: “one email search resulted in 4,000 emails” and another request for an elected official’s communications returned “about 80,300 emails,” forcing staff to review each record for exemptions before release. He emphasized that many records are already published on the city website and that personal data and attorney‑client communications remain exempt under law.
The administration approved changes to Administrative Policy 5.1 effective March 25. Key changes Crrop summarized include: clearer approved methods for submitting requests (JustFOYA portal required for most requests; police department uses a separate form); an updated fees and deposits approach consistent with Iowa Code 22.3 and a 30‑minute no‑charge threshold applied per department assigned to a request; a requirement that staff provide an estimate before performing large searches; a limit on continued portal‑to‑portal dialog once a request is completed; and a two‑year retention window for stored FOIA request records in the portal.
Council members pressed staff for additional metrics and operational changes. Alderman Newton and others asked the clerk to track staff hours by department and to provide data on unique requesters versus total requests; Crrop said staff will begin more rigorous time tracking and provide breakdowns at a future meeting. Council also discussed deposit and quoting practices; Crrop said the city will use employee hourly “rack rates” for estimates and follow IPIP (Iowa Public Information Board) guidance to encourage scoping large requests.
Crrop acknowledged the workload strain and noted that the police department receives a high volume of requests and maintains a separate fulfillment team. The city’s updated policy is posted on the municipal website as City Administration Policy 5.1 and the mayor and council indicated staff will return with additional data and proposed process refinements.
The clerk’s presentation anchored several council follow‑ups: providing counts of unique requesters for 2024–25, departmental time tracking data, and a summary of large requests processed in the last two years. During the meeting Alderman Dunn requested staff follow up directly on at least one open nuisance case raised during public comment.
The policy changes take effect immediately and are available on the city website. Staff said they will provide more detailed time and cost breakdowns at a future council meeting.
