Iowa City government awash in sunshine

Iowa City residents are rarely more than a few clicks or a phone call away from information on city government, which is too often a rarity in Iowa.

Unlike other public bodies that require interested citizens to remember to check a website for upcoming meeting information, Iowa City residents can have notices delivered to their inbox.

And, instead of receiving only the upcoming agenda, residents have the option of perusing the entire packet of information given to elected officials. While some leaders, including some in the Corridor, have argued such documents should not be given to the public without proper context, Iowa City leaders make no such judgments. Questions regarding packet materials can be asked via email or telephone in advance of the meeting or posed at the meeting.

City Clerk Marian Karr says transparency as a part of daily business in Iowa City was a natural result of internal changes. For instance, once the City Council became paperless, full packets of information were digitized and could easily be made available to the public. As a taxpayer bonus, moving the documents to a digital format has also resulted in cost savings due to less printing.

While the openness hasn't completely eliminated records requests, Karr said many are handled much more quickly since most information is already publicly available and staff members need only refer residents to the website or provide a hard copy of the digitized information housed there.

New to town and need to know which local businesses serving alcohol are allowed to have those under the age of 21 inside after 10 p.m.? Or are you just curious what percentage of sales at local establishments comes from alcohol? It's available on the city's website.

Looking for recreational opportunities? Need to pay a parking ticket? Curious about the city's union contract with the local police? Want to know local building specifications for the new deck you're planning? While such items aren't usually the first considered when accessing an organization's commitment to transparency, they are all easily accessible in Iowa City and part of a comprehensive approach to open records.

While local residents may not always agree with elected officials and staff members, Iowa City residents have much to crow about when it comes to the very basic step of having open access. Too bad all Iowa residents aren't as fortunate.

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