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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-08-1997 CommunicationIOWA CITY POLICE CITIZENS' REVIEW BOARD BY-LAWS BY-LAWS IOWA CITY POLICE CITIZENS' REVIEW BOARD ARTICLE I. AUTHORITY: The Iowa City Police Citizens' Review Board (PCRB) shall have that authority which is conferred by Ordinance No. 97-3792 of the City of Iowa City, Iowa and through the adoption of these by-laws stated herein. ARTICLEII. PURPOSE: The purpose of the by-laws stated herein is to provide for the general welfare of the citizens of Iowa City by establishing a Police Citizens' Review Board to advise the Police Chief, City Manager and City Council on matters pertaining to the policies, practices and overall performance of the Iowa City Police Department. Further, in an effort to assure the citizens of Iowa City that the Iowa City Police Department's performance is in keeping with community standards, this Board is created to review investigations into complaints of police misconduct to insure that such investigations are conducted in a matter which is fair, thorough, and accurate, and to maintain a central registry and to provide City Council with an annual report on all such complaints. ARTICLE II1. MEMBERSHIP: Section 1. Qualifications. The Police Citizens' Review Board shall consist of five (5) members appointed by the City Council who shall be eligible electors of the City of Iowa City, Iowa and shall meet the criteria contained in Chapter ~ City Code, City of Iowa City, Iowa. Appoint- ments to the Board shall include one current or former "peace officer" as that term is defined by state law. The City Council may waive the residency requirement for good cause shown and may waive the requirement that the Board include one current or former "peace officer" for good cause shown. Section 2. Compensation. Members shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for expenses incurred for travel outside the city on designated Board business. Such expenses must be submitted to the City Manager for approval and reimbursement. Section 3. Orientation for New Members. Prior to the first regular meeting following their appointment, new members shall be provided with copies of the ordinance creating the Police Citizens' Review Board, the written policies of the Iowa City Police Department, the PCRB by- laws, open records law, open meetings law and other documentation that would be useful to Board members in carrying out their duties. They shall also be given an orientation briefing by the appropriate City staff and the Board as is deemed appropriate. Section 4. Absences. Three consecutive unexplained absences of a Board member from regular meetings may result in a recommendation to the City Council from the Board to discharge said member and appoint a new Board member. 2 Section 5. Vacancies. Any vacancy on the Board because of death, resignation, long-term illness, disqualification or removal shall be filled by the City Council after at least 30 days public notice of the vacancy. Section 6. Terms. Members shall be initially appointed for staggered terms as outlined in Chapter ~, City Code, City of Iowa City, Iowa. Thereafter, Members shall be appointed for terms of four years, with terms expiring on May 1. If a position becomes vacant by reason of resignation or otherwise, and results in an unexpired term of six months or less, the Council may choose to fill the unexpired term in such a manner that the appointee shall continue in the position not only through the unexpired term, but also through a subsequent regular term. Section 7. Resiqnations. Resignations shall be submitted in writing to the Mayor with a copy to the City ~A ...... r,~,;~ c~ PCI~cc ~1~ and the Chairperson of the Board at least 6~ ~ days prior to the date of intended departure. ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS: Section 1. Number. The officers of this Board shall be a Chairperson ~ Vice-Chairperson7 ~,4 ~ ......... each of whom shall be elected by the members of the Board. Section 2. Election and Term of Office. Officers of the Board shall be elected as soon as practicable after formation of the Board, and thereafter annually at the first regular meeting in ~ ~ each year; if the election of officers shall not be held at such meeting, such election shall be held as soon thereafter as is convenient. Section 3. Vacancies. A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or other cause shall be filled by the members for the unexpired portion of the term. Section 4. Chairperson. The Chairperson shall, when present, preside at all meetings, appoint committees, call special meetings and in general perform all duties incident to the office of a Chairperson, and such other duties as may be prescribed by the members from time to time. Section 5. Vice-Chairperson. In the absence of the Chairperson, or in the event of death, inability or refusal to act, the Vice-Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson and when so acting shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Chairperson. ARTICLE V. BOARD MEETINGS: Section 1. Regular Meetings. At least one (1) rcg~: =r ~i~ meet ng shall be held. 3 month Ln tho at .m.. Section 2. Special Meetinqs. Special meetings of the members may be called by the Chairperson and shall be called by the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson at the request of three or more Members of the Board. At least one (1) full day's written notice of meeting place, time and agenda shall be given each Member and the media. Insofar as possible, only matters included on the agenda may be discussed and formal votes taken. Care shall be taken to avoid discussion of non-agenda items. Section 3. Quorum. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum at any meeting. A majority of present and voting members shall be necessary to pass a motion unless otherwise provided in the Board's enabling ordinance. The Chairperson shall vote as e~+;~ 21 .~. a member. Board meetings shall be public except where provided in Iowa Code ......... Section 4. Place of Meetinqs. Re~j~a+ ~]~ meetings shall be :- ~ ~ ......... ;~ Section 5. Notice of Meet nqs., Notice of ..~-.-.' .... ~..~ ~.~.~' meetings shall be required; meetings may be called upon notice not less than twenty-four (24) hours before the meetings unless such notice is impossible or impracticable, in which case notice shall be provided as outlined in Iowa Code. 52!.~{2}. The news media shall be notified by staff. Section 6. Proxies. There shall be no vote by proxy. Section 7. Public Discussion. Time shall be made available during all.~_._.'~- ~,_.,,,~,~ meetings for open public discussion. Section 8. Motions. Motions may be made or seconded by any member of the Board, including the Chairperson. Section 9. Expa~e Contacts. A member who has had a discussion of an agenda item outside of a public meeting with an interested pa~y (legal counsel to research this) shall reveal the contact, naming the other pa~y and sharing specifics of the contact, copies if in writing or a synopsis if verbal. Section 10. Conflict of Interest. A member who believes they have a conflict of interest on a matter about to come before the Board shall state the reason for the conflict of interest, leave the room before the discussion begins, and return after the vote. Section 11 Votin~ A majority "~ .................... ~ ....... ~;-~ quorum ................. ~:s:::~e~u~e~::~o::::~a~s any motion or Upon request, voting will be by roll call and will be recorded by yeas and nays. Every member of the Board, including the Chairperson, is required to cast a vote upon each motion. A member who abstains shall state the reason for abstention. 4 Section 13. Roberts Rules of Order. The rules in the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised shale govern the Board in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules or order the Board may adopt, ARTICLEVI. GENERAL AND LIMITED POWERS AND DUTIES: The Iowa City Police Citizens' Review Board Scct!cn __, City Cede, City cf ~c~':; City, Iowa: 5 ..... or, th ....... Ch ............ ~ftc~:" ..... ~.;~ ~.;~,, ~. ~ ~ .... ;.+~+ ..,;*~ .... +;+. ,+;~l ~, ,~ ~rCCC~ laW c:hcr prccccd~cgs. Th ............ ~ ............................................ ~ ............................ 6 (2) Thc Board ~l, .~;.~^ *~'a i .... . ~* .... ; .... *~ g!.:~ *~.^ D~l;~ C~;C*,~ ~. ~;... t= c:rry cut thc Be=rd'= d'dt~o:. (7) Thc Bccrd may hc~d VII. PUBLIC RECORDS; EXCEPTIONS Section 1. All records of the Board shall be public, except: (a) Complaints, reports of investigations, statements and other documents or records obtained in investigation of any complaint shall be closed records unless a public hearing is held or a contrary determination is made by Counsel to the Board pursuant to the provisions Iowa Code. Chcptcr 22. (b} The minutes ~:i~ i:~i~ of any session closed under the provisions of Iowa Code Chcptcr__~ _,,_,~,~-~/~- ~+~'~..~.~. shall be closed records. (c) No member of the Board or of its staff shall disclose the filing of a complaint, the information gathered during the investigation, or the endeavors to address and/or eliminate any complained of act or practice by mediation, except as may be necessary to conduct an investigation of a complaint. Nothing in this provision shall prevent the Board from releasing such information concerning alleged or acknowledged practices to the Iowa City City Council, the City Manager and/or Chief of Police, either in the form of its required annual report or otherwise. This section does not prevent any complainant, witness or other person from publicizing the filing of a complaint or the matter therein complained of. Violation of these provisions by a member of the Board or its staff shall constitute grounds for removal. 7 ARTICLE VIII. CONDUCT OF BOARD BUSINESS: Section 1. A.qenda. The Chairperson, or a designated representative, together with staff assistance shall prepare an agenda I~or all ~ Board meetings. Agendas are to be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting and shall be sent to Board members and the media prior to :~I:; .~c;..~.:l meetings. Copies will be available to the public at the meeting. Section 2. Minutes. Minutes of all rc~,'--'!;: f;;.mal meetings are to be prepared and distributed to Board and City Council members. Specific recommendations requiring Council action are to be set off from the main body of the minutes and appropriately identified. Section 3. Review Policy. The Board shall review all policies and programs of the City relating to the Board's duties as stated herein~ and make such recommendations to the City Council as are deemed appropriate. Section 4. Referrals from Council. From time to time lettersr requests for information, requests for recommendations, and other matters are referred to the Board by the City Council. The Board will initiate consideration of each item at the next regular Board meeting and shall notify Council of its disposition. Section 5. Annual Report. An annual report detailing the activities of the Board shall be prepared by the Chairperson~ approved by the Board, and submitted to the City Council. ARTICLE IX. SUBCOMMITTEES: The subcommittees of this Board including composition, duties, and terms shall be as designated by the Chairperson. ARTICLEX. AMENDMENTS: These by-laws may be altered, amended or repealed, and new by-laws adopted by an affirmative vote of not less than three members of the Board at any regular meeting or at an,/ special meeting called for that purpose. Amendments shall be approved by the Council to become effective. October 3, 1997 CITY OF I0 WA CITY October 3, 1997 Mayor Naomi Novick and City Council 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear Mayor and Council Members: At our meeting of October 2, 1997, the Police Citizens Review Board unanimously voted to request an extension of the 30-day reporting deadline according to Section 1 of Ordinance No. 97-3792. To ensure the investigation is conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough and accurate, we are requesting a 45-day extension for the following reasons: · the Board has only very recently retained legal counsel; · the Board has not yet adopted procedural rules or bylaws; · the Board was presented with Complaint #97-1 and the Chief's Report dated September 8, 1997 on September 29. The Board has scheduled meetings for Wednesday, October 8 and Friday, L October 10. It is the Board's intent to have a completed reported of the complaint to you no later than November 21, 1997. Sincerel~ Paul Hoffev'~~ Chair Police Citizen Review Board STEIN, RUSSELL & PUGH, LL.P. ATTORNEYS AT LAW IOWA CITY, IOWA SZ?.,~ ~,,-~.~..,.~,,. ,uo~- September 24, 1997 ~£LE..oN£ Ms. Marian Karr City Clerk Iowa City Civic Center 410 E. Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Re: Legal Counsel for Police Citizens Review Board Dear Marian: Thank you for your call on September 23, 1997, and your follow-up letter clarifying the proposed terms of employment. I propose that the following terms of employment be approved. These incorporate the changes you proposed. 1. I shall be paid for all services as legal counsel at the rate of $115.00 per hour. The Police Citizens Review Board shall be given 3,0 days notice of any fee increase. Travel time outside the corporate limits or Iowa City, if necessary, shall be billed at the same hourly rate. 2. A monthly statement for services will be submitted to Marian Karr, the Clerk of the City of Iowa City, itemizing in detail all billable time by item, date, and time based on tenths of an hour. 3. The minimum billable time for a telephone call is .2 hours. The minimum billable time for preparation of a letter or written document is .25 hours. 4. Each statement for services shall be paid within thirty days of receipt. 5. No retainer fee is required. 6. All attorney expenses for legal counsel work shall be included in the monthly statement for services and payable on the same basis as legal fees. Expenses for travel outside the corporate limits of Iowa City, if necessary, shall be paid according to the usual travel expense policy for city employees. 7. Either I or the Police Citizens Review Board may terminate the agreement at any time by providing written notice of the termination. STEIN, RUSSELL, & PUGH, L.L.P. Page 2 of 2 To: Marian Karr September 24, 1997 8. I understand City staff is available to assist with photocopying, postage, and other clerical duties. If these modified terms are acceptable, please have the appropriate official sign a copy of this letter and return it to me. Thank you again. Respectfully, STEIN, RUSSELL & PUGH L.L.P. Douglas S. Russell DSR\jmr On this ~' day of September, 1997, the undersigned, on behalf of the City of Iowa City, approves the terms of employment stated above. c:\doug\l-icpcrl~ .922