Court finds Cedar Rapids City Council did not violate Iowa open meetings law in city clerk’s appointment

CEDAR RAPIDS — A Linn County District Court judge this week dismissed a lawsuit alleging the Cedar Rapids City Council violated Iowa open meetings law in hiring Alissa Van Sloten as city clerk in 2021, siding with the city in finding that no violation of the law occurred.

Cedar Rapids resident Bob Teig, a retired assistant U.S. attorney, filed the lawsuit in May 2021 against then-Mayor Brad Hart and six of the eight other council members and has asked the court to void the clerk’s appointment. Teig said Thursday he plans to ask the court to reconsider, or absent that, will appeal the ruling. But Judge Andrew Chappell in his ruling advised the higher court to decline to void the hire of a qualified candidate.

The judge disagreed with Teig’s interpretation of the law, which Teig believed was that council members were “required to have specific, negative information in their possession prior to proceeding in closed session.” His understanding “could lead to some strained, impractical or absurd results” if implemented, according to the ruling.

Under the procedure Teig suggested, the council could close the meeting to evaluate potential negative information. The judge said that process “could result in a meeting being closed and reopened multiple times based on what questions were asked. It also would seem to require much of the deliberation regarding a hiring decision to be done in open session, with a separate vote to close the meeting in the event a member thought they were going to make an observation or share an impression that would be damaging to the candidate’s reputation.”

The code says a meeting can be closed to the extent it’s necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to an individual’s reputation, but Teig said there was no evidence that anybody had any knowledge of potential bad information before they closed the meeting.

“The only reason for closing was it was possible something bad could come up, and my reading of the statute is that’s not enough, but the court disagreed,” Teig said.

As the council members resoundingly noted, according to the judge, job interviews are unpredictable so “there simply is no way to know during an interview, for instance, when something negative will come up.” Plus, Van Sloten requested a closed session.

Teig had asked the court to void Van Sloten’s selection, prompting the council in September to reconfirm her appointment.

Ultimately, the court found the council took no action in the closed session. Council members reached a consensus to offer Van Sloten the job, but she was not appointed or hired until they were in open session. Notice of her appointment was provided as part of the agenda.

Even if Teig were to win on appeal, the judge wrote, the council would change its procedures accordingly.

“Teig’s suit then will have changed the way the people’s work is done in the City of Cedar Rapids,” the judge wrote. “The court finds there would be little additional benefit to (Cedar Rapids’) citizenry to void the hire of someone who appears, on the record before the court, to have been an exceptional hire.”

Teig’s suit is lodged against Hart and council members Patrick Loeffler, Scott Olson, Tyler Olson, Ann Poe, Dale Todd and Ashley Vanorny. Members Marty Hoeger and Scott Overland were absent from Van Sloten’s interview and are not named.

“I think the court got the facts right,” Teig said. “I think the court got the law wrong.”

Teig has filed other lawsuits against city officials, but so far has not prevailed in court. The city attorney's office said it has paid $175,000 to $200,000 to date on legal defense, including but not limited to outside counsel, for cases brought by Teig.

In a lawsuit filed in November 2021, Teig alleged violations of Iowa open records law related to Van Sloten’s appointment as city clerk and Vanessa Chavez’s October 2021 hiring as city attorney.

A Linn County District Court judge granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment, dismissing Teig’s claims without a trial. Teig has appealed that dismissal to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Additionally, a Linn County District Court judge in October dismissed Teig’s motion for summary judgment in a lawsuit filed this April, where he asserts that he asked the city to pay $1,302.50 for its alleged portion of a partition fence between his yard on Lamp Light Lane SE and Honey Hill Drive. The trial can go forward but has not yet been scheduled.

Teig asserts the city owned the adjoining tract of land along Honey Hill Drive on the north side of his property and should pay for half the fence. According to court documents, the city denied qualifying as the owner of the adjoining tract of land under Iowa Code.

He sought payment for the city’s alleged portion of the fence and asked the court to find that a 1962 easement in the 8- by 100-foot section at the rear of his property has been extinguished, quiet title and order the city to file a document acknowledging there is no easement.

According to the ruling, the court determined “a reasonable jury could find that physical evidence exists of the use of the easement in its utility or drainage capacity.”

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