The city of Davenport is taking the state auditor to court over an investigation into $1.9 million in settlements paid out to former city employees.
The city is opposing a subpoena that Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand has issued for records related to conversations that Davenport city officials had with staff attorneys and contracted attorneys over actual or potential litigation related to the settlements.
Sand’s subpoena calls for the city to produce closed-session minutes and recordings of five City Council or committee-of-the-whole meetings, as well as copies of all emails and memos discussing proposed settlements with former City Administrator Corri Spiegel and two city assistants, Samantha Torres and Tiffany Thorndike.
The subpoena also demands access to the three individuals’ employment agreements and to the final, signed settlements between the city and the three.
Last November, shortly after a city election had taken place, Davenport city officials announced they had agreed before the election to pay Spiegel, who already was planning to leave her job with the city, $1.6 million due to some form of “prolonged and documented instances of harassment” by unidentified elected officials.
The payouts to Thorndike and Torres, totaling $297,500, are also tied to the unspecified allegations of harassment.
Since the settlements were announced, concerns have been raised that some council members may have supported the use of taxpayer money to dispose of legal claims that stem from their own behavior or the behavior of their fellow council members.
In response to the state auditor’s demand for access to records, the city has gone to court and asked a judge to modify the subpoena to exclude all of the recordings and minutes of the closed-session council and committee discussions, arguing they are “absolutely” covered by attorney-client privilege since they involve discussions of settlements with the city’s attorneys.
The auditor, in turn, has told the court that Iowa law specifically provides that the office when, conducting any audit or review, “shall at all times have access to all information, records, instrumentalities, and properties used in the performance of the audited or reviewed entities’ statutory duties or contractual responsibilities.”
The auditor notes that the law also dictates that if the records at issue are confidential, the auditor’s office “shall have access” to them with the understanding that it must “maintain the confidentiality” of the records once it has gained access to them.
A court hearing on the dispute is scheduled for March 25.
Last month, in separate but related court proceedings, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council intervened in litigation over the city’s refusal to comply with public-records requests for a letter from Spiegel that allegedly outlines her allegations against the city. The city has asked the court to rule on whether it can make the letter public.
This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
The city is opposing a subpoena that Iowa Auditor of State Rob Sand has issued for records related to conversations that Davenport city officials had with staff attorneys and contracted attorneys over actual or potential litigation related to the settlements.
Sand’s subpoena calls for the city to produce closed-session minutes and recordings of five City Council or committee-of-the-whole meetings, as well as copies of all emails and memos discussing proposed settlements with former City Administrator Corri Spiegel and two city assistants, Samantha Torres and Tiffany Thorndike.
The subpoena also demands access to the three individuals’ employment agreements and to the final, signed settlements between the city and the three.
Last November, shortly after a city election had taken place, Davenport city officials announced they had agreed before the election to pay Spiegel, who already was planning to leave her job with the city, $1.6 million due to some form of “prolonged and documented instances of harassment” by unidentified elected officials.
The payouts to Thorndike and Torres, totaling $297,500, are also tied to the unspecified allegations of harassment.
Since the settlements were announced, concerns have been raised that some council members may have supported the use of taxpayer money to dispose of legal claims that stem from their own behavior or the behavior of their fellow council members.
In response to the state auditor’s demand for access to records, the city has gone to court and asked a judge to modify the subpoena to exclude all of the recordings and minutes of the closed-session council and committee discussions, arguing they are “absolutely” covered by attorney-client privilege since they involve discussions of settlements with the city’s attorneys.
The auditor, in turn, has told the court that Iowa law specifically provides that the office when, conducting any audit or review, “shall at all times have access to all information, records, instrumentalities, and properties used in the performance of the audited or reviewed entities’ statutory duties or contractual responsibilities.”
The auditor notes that the law also dictates that if the records at issue are confidential, the auditor’s office “shall have access” to them with the understanding that it must “maintain the confidentiality” of the records once it has gained access to them.
A court hearing on the dispute is scheduled for March 25.
Last month, in separate but related court proceedings, the Iowa Freedom of Information Council intervened in litigation over the city’s refusal to comply with public-records requests for a letter from Spiegel that allegedly outlines her allegations against the city. The city has asked the court to rule on whether it can make the letter public.
This article first appeared in the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
