Peer Newsletter August 26, 2021

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Denver, CO – August 26, 2021 – Granicus, the leading provider of cloud-based digital experience solutions for the public sector, today announced the acquisition of GovQA, the nation’s leading provider of public records and compliance workflow solutions for government.

With the addition of GovQA, Granicus continues to extend the capabilities of its Civic Engagement Platform, helping government officials deliver consistent, unified digital experiences to their communities while automating, streamlining and transforming internal process workflows.

Read More | Granicus.com

More than a decade ago, Mayor Sam Liccardo was among several officials sued over their use of private emails to conduct public business. Now, the attorney who successfully argued the case against the city worries Liccardo is at it again.

The violation uncovered traces back to Jan. 12, when Liccardo directed San Jose resident Scott Largent to email his personal Gmail account to discuss concerns about the city’s police and code enforcement departments. The mayor vowed to delete the email from his public account, despite the fact that the law has protections for whistleblowers like Largent. When San José Spotlight requested those emails on June 24, the city responded that no records existed—from any of Liccardo’s accounts.

But after learning that San José Spotlight had copies of the emails, an official from the mayor’s office said the public records request was “prematurely” closed out. The city finally released some of the emails on Aug. 9.

Read More | San Jose Spotlight

For years — including a few months ago — Iowa’s public universities considered the names and some details of employees they hired onto the state’s payroll by skipping formal job searches to be information available to the public.

Despite prior practice — including years of providing job search waivers records to The Gazette — the University of Iowa in July said it had erred.

“While we have previously released the search waiver justification, upon further review, and in consultation with the Office of the Board Regents, the Office of General Counsel has determined that search waiver records are confidential personnel records pursuant to Iowa Code Chp. 22.7,” according to the UI Office of Transparency.

In a July 7 email responding to The Gazette’s request for search waiver documents, UI Transparency Officer Ann Goff said administrators sparingly use the waiver process to bypass public searches for applicants that are otherwise required by policy.

Read More | The Gazette

The North Carolina Railroad Co., a nearly 175-year-old company now owned fully by the state, can withhold documents from the public because it isn’t subject to open records laws, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

Associate Justice Sam Ervin, writing the 5-2 majority opinion, said while the state “does exert a considerable degree of control over the railroad, it primarily exercises this authority in its capacity as the railroad’s sole shareholder rather than in its capacity as a sovereign,” Ervin wrote.

The railroad is not subject to the open records law because the legislature and other governmental entities have “consistently treated the railroad as a private corporation.”

Read More | AP News

What is ARPA?

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a substantial infusion of resources to eligible state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to help turn the tide on the pandemic; address its economic fallout; and lay the foundation for a strong and equitable recovery.

Read More | GovQA

GovQA regularly hosts and moderates roundtables and webinars with partners, associations, customers, and other subject matter experts to create and expand opportunities for state and local government agency members to discuss the challenges they face.