Dallas County E911 Board is Not Dallas County
IN THE UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN
DISTRICT OF IOWA
CENTRAL DIVISION
Case 4:09-cv-001 98-RP-RAW Document 57 Filed
03/30/11 Page 55 of 61
B. E911 Defendants
The parties are in agreement that Plaintiff's official capacity
claims against Heenan and Ockerman are, in actuality, claims against the Dallas
County E911 Board, and are not claims against Dallas County. See E911 Defs.'
Br. at 6-8 (discussing how the E911 Board is a separate and distinct entity
from Dallas County under Iowa law and citing case law making clear that Dallas
County cannot be held liable for any actions of Heenan or Ockerman); As 2d Br.
at 17 ("Plaintiff agrees that his claims against Defendant Ockerman and
Defendant Heenan in their official capacities . . . are “claims against the
Dallas County E911 Board, not Dallas County.")
So,
there you have it, the Dallas County E911 Service Board operates independantly
of Dallas County, i.e., Dallas County is absolved of any liability for the
actions of the E911 Board, meaning that the E911 Board is immune from the scrutiny
of Dallas County voters as well as all Iowans who pay the E911 tax through
their communications utility bills (have a look at yours!)
Nevertheless
it would be more difficult to recognize the distinction between Dallas County
and the Dallas County E911 Board than to separate a barrel full of 25 kinds of
black snakes. There are tens, maybe tens of tens, of symbioses. Here are a few:
1.
All E911 Board members are
employees or electees of Dallas County governmental entities.
3.
Dallas County funds all of the
Boards space use.
4.
Dallas County entities pay the
salaries of the Board members while on Board duties.
5.
Article One of the By-Laws of the Dallas
County E911 Service Board states:
ARTICLE ONE - NAME
The name of this organization shall be the
Dallas County E-911 Service Board, as established in joint agreement, entered
into the political subdivisions located with the E-911 Service Area together
with the County itself as represented by
its Board of Supervisors, the same filed with the Secretary of State of the
State of Iowa, and the Dallas County Recorder, all as provided Chapter 28E of
the Code of Iowa, and acts amendatory thereto.
And on, and on, and on. Usually, if it looks
like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. In this case it ain’t no duck. It may be a quacker, but it ain’t no duck!
