Henry County public records complaint partially dismissed

DES MOINES — The Iowa Public Information Board on Thursday said it planned to eventually issue a ruling on public record complaints made against Henry County, but would limit its evaluation and any potential orders to the county sheriff’s office, not the board of supervisors.

The move comes months after members of a family in Wayland accused the sheriff’s office of taking unreasonable delays and providing incomplete responses to a public records request over the summer. The Wagler family had asked about records related to their own arrests and later dismissal of charges for criminal fraud, and about Henry County Deputy Carlos Lopez, who made that arrest.

In October, the Waglers’ attorney filed a formal complaint against the county as a whole, saying the board of supervisors was responsible for the sheriff’s conduct and oversight of all publicly owned records. The IPIB rejected that claim with the order issued Nov. 21, citing Henry County Sheriff Rich McNamee’s use of a privately hired attorney to handle the records requests, and the fact that requests were sent directly to the sheriff’s office, not the supervisors or county attorney.

“With regards to the Henry County Board of Supervisors, this case should be dismissed,” wrote IPIB Executive Director Erika Eckley in the dismissal order. “Because the Henry County Board of Supervisors had no responsibility to respond to the records request at issue, the portion of the complaint brought against them is without merit.”

Instead, the board said it would apply the complaint only to the sheriff’s office moving forward. While Thursday’s order says the issue “will be addressed,” it does not offer an expected outcome for the case, nor does it suggest a timeline for a final decision in the dispute.

The vote for a partial dismissal was 5-0, with Board Member Catherine Lucas abstaining, saying she had “prior knowledge” of the dispute.

The move means the Henry County Board of Supervisors won’t be held liable for any alleged violations of state sunshine laws. Any enforcement orders or administrative proceedings over the sheriff’s public record handling will go to his office alone, and not involve other county departments.

In an email earlier this month to IPIB officials obtained by The Union, lawyers at Ellis Law Offices in Indianola said they represented the sheriff “in his official capacity,” but were paid privately for the work. In a speech to supervisors Nov. 7, McNamee confirmed the money came from his own pocket, and restated his belief that County Attorney Darin Stater was biased against Deputy Lopez, constituting a conflict of interest for the local government’s go-to legal counsel.

McNamee suggested he would ask again if the dispute with the Waglers escalated to a formal hearing in front of the IPIB.

“I have expended significant sums of my own money for counsel to properly comply with (Iowa Code) Chapter 22 and give requesters everything the law entitles them to, while not providing items they are not entitled to,” he said. “If there is any proceeding before any tribunal that concerns the same disputes I have had with County Attorney Stater for the past few years, I will be here requesting appointment of outside counsel, and I will seek enforcement of (state law) if necessary to get such counsel.”

The sheriff has twice asked the Henry County Board of Supervisors to finance private lawyers in disputes about Lopez’s credibility and related public records requests. He’s been denied both times, with decision-makers saying they worried about the legality of the request, and the risk of wasting public money.

“It’s difficult for me to authorize county taxpayers’ funds to settle a disagreement … between the sheriff’s office and the county attorney’s office,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Greg Moeller at a meeting Nov. 14.

Thursday’s IPIB order added to a lengthy saga that started with the Waglers’ arrests in April of 2023.

The family filed a records request to the sheriff in May, seeking documents related to their arrests for and later dismissal of charges for criminal fraud, a request their lawyer said was a precursor to planned litigation. The family also asked for records about Deputy Lopez, and his placement on the county’s “Brady-Giglio list,” a formal roster of police officials a government prosecutor deems potentially unreliable in court.

That records request was not fulfilled for at least 90 days — though the exact timeline is disputed — and it ended with the sheriff passing along a nine-page email attachment, even though a similar request from the Southeast Iowa Union newspaper yielded 109 pages of documents. The complainants argue the sheriff’s delays and allegedly incomplete response were part of a bad-faith effort to deny them information likely needed for a lawsuit.

“Despite numerous extensions, follow-ups, and offers of alternative methods of delivery, the Sheriff’s Office has failed to provide the requested records promptly,” wrote Danny Cornell, the Waglers’ attorney, in their formal complaint against the county. “The delays have caused undue hardship for the Waglers and have obstructed their legal rights to access public records.”

The Iowa Public Information Board asked the county to release those 109 pages to the Waglers earlier this month in an effort to informally settle the dispute, and representatives from Ellis Law did so on Nov. 12, according to emails obtained by The Union.

That doesn’t necessarily mean the disagreement is close to a resolution. Cornell has said in other communications with the state board that he believed over 1,000 pages of county documentation fell under his clients’ request, while McNamee’s lawyers argue it was worded too narrowly, or asked for confidential documents exempt from public examination.

If needed, the Iowa Public Information Board has the authority to issue “declaratory orders with the force of law” requiring government officials to comply with state transparency codes, but the majority of cases don’t end that way. Of the 50 formal complaints sent to the IPIB in 2023, all but 10 were dismissed or informally resolved outside of board meetings.

In response to a complaint from the local paper earlier this year, the board ruled that Sheriff McNamee’s lengthy delay in providing records about Lopez wasn’t unreasonable, since he needed time to arrange outside counsel for the records given the asserted conflict of interest. Officials gave the caveat, however, that they had no jurisdiction to determine the legitimacy of the supposed conflict of interest.

The Wagler family’s complaint makes the additional accusation that McNamee deliberately obstructed their records request, based on the lack of payoff for the 90-plus day wait, and the number of records they believe should be public.

It’s not the only legal fight the family’s involved in. A handful of plaintiffs in civil cases continue to claim the Waglers have scammed them out of thousands of dollars worth of lumber shipments and broken contracts, and the owners of the sawmill filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy earlier this year.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com