Did a North Dakota rural ambulance district violate the open meetings or open records laws when its email notice to the official newspaper got stuck in an outbox, and when it took 80 days to release a severance agreement?

Plain-English summary

The Killdeer Area Ambulance Service held two special meetings in July 2023. For the first meeting (July 18), KAAS posted notice at the meeting location and at the county auditor's office, and tried to email the notice to its official newspaper. Due to technical difficulties, the email stayed in KAAS's outbox and was not transmitted before the meeting. For the second meeting (July 30), KAAS posted notice at the meeting location and the county auditor's office and notified the official newspaper.

After the second meeting, where the board terminated its billing specialist, a citizen requested copies of the meeting minutes and the severance agreement. KAAS provided the minutes the same day. It denied the severance-agreement request, citing only "NDCC section 44-04" (an entire chapter, not a specific section). KAAS finally released the severance agreement 80 days later, after the requester took the matter to the AG.

The AG's findings:

1. July 18 meeting notice: Substantial compliance, despite the email failure. Reasonable steps were taken; technical difficulties caused the email not to send.
2. July 30 meeting notice: Substantial compliance.
3. Records request: Violation. The AG found the unexplained 80-day delay unreasonable. The opinion also observed that KAAS cited an entire chapter, rather than a specific section, to deny the request.

What this means for you

Rural ambulance service districts

The opinion treats KAAS as a public entity subject to both the open meetings law (§ 44-04-20) and the open records law (§ 44-04-18), because rural ambulance service districts are created by statute under N.D.C.C. ch. 11-28.3 and perform a governmental function. Footnote 15 says KAAS is also organized as a nonprofit corporation under N.D.C.C. ch. 10-33 and supported by public funds. The AG advised KAAS to contact counsel to ensure compliance with laws governing political subdivisions and to verify it was not treating public funds as nonprofit corporate funds.

On notice for special meetings, the AG identified posting at the meeting location, filing with the county auditor, posting on the entity's website if it has one, and providing notice to the official newspaper as the relevant elements. The AG found substantial compliance for the July 18 meeting despite an email that stayed in the outbox, because reasonable steps were taken and technical difficulties caused the failure.

Public entities handling records requests

Two holdings apply to records compliance under this opinion. First, the AG concluded that citing "NDCC section 44-04" (an entire chapter) does not satisfy the requirement in § 44-04-18(7) that a denial "describe the legal authority." Second, the AG concluded that an 80-day delay, with no explanation for the delay, violated the reasonable-time requirement in § 44-04-18.

Requesters of severance agreements

The AG concluded that the severance agreement in this case was not confidential or exempt once it was fully executed by all parties on July 29, 2023. Under § 44-04-19.1(11), settlement agreements are exempt only until fully executed. The opinion did not address whether other statutory bases for confidentiality might apply to a different severance agreement.

Citizens using the records-request system

The opinion confirms that a citizen may request an AG opinion under § 44-04-21.1, and the AG can find a violation even when the entity ultimately produces the records. Here, the AG found a violation but did not impose further corrective action because Mr. Ingold had already received the records.

Common questions

Q: Why does an ambulance district have to follow open meetings and records laws? A: Because rural ambulance service districts are political subdivisions created by N.D.C.C. ch. 11-28.3 and they perform a governmental function. N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(11) defines political subdivisions to include rural ambulance service districts; § 44-04-17.1(13)(b) makes them public entities subject to the open laws.

Q: Does it matter if the district is also a non-profit corporation? A: KAAS was subject to open meetings and open records law as a rural ambulance service district. Footnote 15 adds that KAAS is organized as a nonprofit corporation and supported by public funds, and advises it to consult counsel about its obligations as a political subdivision and its treatment of public funds.

Q: Is a severance agreement always public?
A: After it is fully executed, generally yes, unless another statutory basis for confidentiality applies. N.D.C.C. § 44-04-19.1(11) makes settlement agreements exempt only until fully executed. After execution, the document becomes open unless another rule applies.

Q: What is "substantial compliance" in the meeting-notice context? A: Functional compliance with the open meetings law, even where some technical step was imperfect. Here, KAAS made reasonable efforts to notice the official newspaper but the email did not transmit. The intent was there; the failure was technical. The AG found substantial compliance.

Q: How specific does a denial citation have to be?
A: A denial must describe its legal authority. KAAS cited "NDCC section 44-04," which the AG said refers to an entire chapter rather than a specific section or statute. The opinion does not set a general minimum citation format.

Q: What happens when an entity violates the reasonable-time requirement? A: The AG found a violation here even though KAAS eventually provided the agreement. Because Mr. Ingold had received the requested records, the opinion required no further corrective measures.

Q: My official newspaper email failed. Am I covered?
A: The AG concluded that KAAS substantially complied because it could show reasonable steps were taken: the email was drafted, "send" was clicked, the message was queued, and unknown technical difficulties prevented transmission. Whether a similar finding would apply in a different case turns on whether the same kind of factual record exists.

Background and statutory framework

North Dakota's open meetings law (N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20) imposes layered notice requirements. Regular meetings need posting at the principal office (if any), the meeting location on the day of the meeting, the entity's website (if any), and the county auditor (for non-state, non-city entities). Special meetings additionally require notice to the official newspaper, since the special-meeting setting carries less natural public awareness than regular recurring meetings.

The open records law (§ 44-04-18) sets the response timing under subsection (8) ("reasonable time") and the denial-citation requirement under subsection (7) (denial "must describe the legal authority"). The AG found the unexplained 80-day delay unreasonable in this case.

The opinion says only enumerated parts of an employee's personnel record are confidential or exempt, citing § 44-04-18.1. It says a settlement agreement is exempt until fully executed under § 44-04-19.1(11), unless another basis for withholding applies. The KAAS agreement was executed on July 29, 2023, and the AG found no apparent confidential or exempt information in it.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 (Open records)
• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-19.1 (Records exemptions, including settlement agreements)
• N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20 (Open meetings)
• N.D.C.C. ch. 11-28.3 (Rural ambulance service districts)

Prior AG opinions cited:

• N.D.A.G. 2005-O-20, 2010-O-07, 2016-O-17, 2025-O-09, official-newspaper notice for special meetings
• N.D.A.G. 2010-O-14, 2011-O-03, rural ambulance districts as public entities
• N.D.A.G. 2019-O-15, 2022-O-12, 2025-O-09: reasonable response time

Source

• Landing page: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/the-north-dakota-attorney-general-issued-an-opinion-to-the-killdeer-area-ambulance-service/
• Original PDF: https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/2025-O-26.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA

OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL
www.attorneygeneral.nd.gov
(701) 328-2210

Drew H. Wrigley
ATTORNEY GENERAL

OPEN RECORDS AND MEETINGS OPINION
2025-O-26

DATE ISSUED: December 23, 2025

ISSUED TO: Killdeer Area Ambulance Service

CITIZEN'S REQUEST FOR OPINION

Debra Biffert requested an opinion from this office under N.D.C.C. § 44-04-21.1 regarding whether Killdeer Area Ambulance Service failed to notice special meetings held on July 18, 2023, and July 30, 2023, and improperly denied a request for records in violation of N.D.C.C.
§§ 44-04-20 and 44-04-18.

FACTS PRESENTED

The Killdeer Area Ambulance Service ("KAAS") held special meetings on July 18, 2023, and July 30, 2023, at the Killdeer Ambulance Station.¹ The day prior to the July 18, 2023, meeting, KAAS's president posted the agenda at the KAAS Ambulance Station, and the Dunn County Auditor's Office.² The notice for the July 18, 2023, meeting was not successfully transmitted to The Dickinson Press because the email with the notice stayed in the KAAS email account's outbox until after the meeting occurred.³ The email was drafted, the "send" button had been clicked, the email was queued to send before the meeting, but, unknown to KAAS, technical difficulties prevented the email from actually being sent until later.⁴ No person had requested to be notified of KAAS meetings.⁵

For the second meeting held on July 30, 2023, notice was posted at the meeting location and the Dunn County Auditor's office by approximately 5:00 p.m. on July 29, 2023.⁶ The meeting notice was successfully transmitted to The Dickinson Press the day before the meeting.⁷ And like the

¹ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM); Notice of Meeting, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv. (July 18, 2023); Public Notice, Killdeer Area Ambulance Bd. of Dirs. (July 30, 2023). ² Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM). ³ Id. ⁴ Id. ⁵ Id. ⁶ Id. ⁷ Id.

prior meeting, no one had requested notice of KAAS's meetings.⁸ The purpose of the July 30, 2023, meeting was to terminate the employment of KAAS's billing specialist and to eliminate the position of billing specialist.⁹

On August 1, 2023, Robert Ingold requested a copy of the meeting minutes that were approved at the meeting the night before and a copy of the severance agreement for the fired billing specialist.¹⁰ KAAS provided copies of the July 18, and 30, 2023, minutes but denied the request for the severance agreement, stating that "Pursuant to NDCC section 44-04 we are not at liberty to release information from employee personnel files."¹¹ However, KAAS ultimately disclosed the severance agreement on or around October 20, 2023.¹² In the meantime, Debra Biffert made a timely request for an opinion from this office regarding both the sufficiency of the notices for the special meetings and the denial of the request for the severance agreement to Mr. Ingold.¹³

ISSUES

1. Whether KAAS provided notice of its July 18, 2023, special meeting in substantial
   compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.
2. Whether KAAS provided notice of its July 30, 2023, special meeting in substantial
   compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.
3. Whether KAAS provided records responsive to a request within a reasonable time in
   substantial compliance with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.

ANALYSIS

Issue One

"The open meetings law applies to rural ambulance service districts and the boards that serve them because the districts are created by statute to exercise public authority or perform a ⁸ Id. ⁹ Id. ¹⁰ Email from Robert Ingold to Dustin Lien (Aug. 1, 2023, 8:13 AM). ¹¹ Email from Dustin Lien to Robert Ingold (Aug. 1, 2023, 3:02 PM). ¹² Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM); Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Robert Ingold (Oct. 20, 2023, 1:32 PM). ¹³ Email from Debra Biffert to Att'y Gen. Wrigley, Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Aug. 13, 2023, 12:55 AM CDT). Ms. Biffert clarified to this office that she is friends with Mr. Ingold and that they combined the issues of the notice sufficiency and denial of the records request for efficiency purposes. Email from Debra Biffert to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 4, 2023, 12:03 PM).

governmental function."¹⁴ KAAS is a rural ambulance service ambulance district created under N.D.C.C. ch. 11-28.3 and is a public entity subject to the open meeting and open record laws.¹⁵

A governing body of a public entity must give advance notice of its meetings unless otherwise provided by law.¹⁶ Notice of a meeting must be posted at the principal office of the governing body, if such an office exists, and at the location of the meeting on the day of the meeting.¹⁷ Entities that are neither a state-level nor city-level entity must file the meeting notice with the county auditor or designee of the county.¹⁸ Notice must be provided to anyone who requests notice of the meetings.¹⁹ If the public entity has a website, notice also must be posted on its website.²⁰ For special meetings, notice must also be given to the public entity's official newspaper.²¹ This office has previously held, notifying "the official newspaper is an important requirement for special meetings because it compensates for the possibility that the public may not be aware of the special meeting."²²

Here, KAAS posted the agenda for the meeting at the location of the meeting, and it provided notice to the county auditor for the July 18, 2023 meeting.²³ KAAS does not have a website to ¹⁴ N.D.A.G. 2011-O-03, citing N.D.A.G. 2010-O-14; see also N.D.C.C. §§ 11-28.3-06 and 11-28.3-07. ¹⁵ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(11) (defining political subdivision to include rural ambulance service district); N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(13)(b) (defining public entity to include political subdivisions); Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to William D. Woodworth, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 29, 2025, 9:03 PM). Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv. is also organized as a non-profit corporation organized under N.D.C.C. ch. 10-33. Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to William D. Woodworth, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 29, 2025, 9:03 PM). The term public entity also includes organizations or entities supported in whole or in part by public funds, which Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv. is. N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(13)(c); Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to William D. Woodworth, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 29, 2025, 9:03 PM). I advise Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv. contact legal counsel to ensure they are in full compliance with the laws governing political subdivisions and verify they are not treating public funds as if they were the funds of a non-profit corporation. ¹⁶ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(1); N.D.A.G. 2025-O-09. ¹⁷ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(4); N.D.A.G. 2025-O-09. ¹⁸ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(4). ¹⁹ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(5). ²⁰ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(4). ²¹ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20(6). N.D.A.G. 2025-O-09. ²² N.D.A.G. 2025-O-09, citing N.D.A.G. 2016-O-17; citing N.D.A.G. 2010-O-07; N.D.A.G. 2005-O-20. ²³ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM).

post notices.²⁴ KAAS acknowledges that it failed to notify the official newspaper of the July 18, 2023, meeting due to technical difficulties which resulted in the email not being delivered as expected.²⁵ It is my opinion under these circumstances that KAAS substantially complied with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20 when it took reasonable steps to notify its official newspaper of its July 18, 2023, special meeting, but technical difficulties prevented the email from being sent.

Issue Two

In the case of the special meeting held on July 30, 2023, KAAS posted the agenda for the meeting at the location of the meeting, and it provided notice to the county auditor.²⁶ Unlike the July 18, 2023, meeting, KAAS successfully provided notice to the official newspaper for the July 30, 2023, meeting. It is therefore my opinion that KAAS substantially complied with N.D.C.C.
§ 44-04-20 when providing notice of the July 30, 2023.

Issue Three

"Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, all records of a public entity are public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours."²⁷ Confidential records are "prohibited from being open to the public,"²⁸ while exempt records "may be open in the discretion of the public entity."²⁹

Only enumerated portions of an employee's personnel record are confidential or exempt.³⁰ A settlement agreement is an exempt record only until it has been fully executed, unless there is another basis for the agreement to continue to be confidential or exempt.³¹ A public entity must respond to an open records request within a reasonable time.³² And a denial of a request "must describe the legal authority for the denial."³³

²⁴ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to William D. Woodworth, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 29, 2025, 9:03 PM). ²⁵ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM). ²⁶ Id. ²⁷ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(1). ²⁸ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(3). ²⁹ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-17.1(5). ³⁰ See N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18.1. ³¹ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-19.1(11). ³² N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(8); N.D.A.G. 2025-O-09, citing N.D.A.G. 2022-O-12; citing N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(8); N.D.A.G. 2019-O-15. ³³ N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(7).

KAAS provided the minutes of the July 18, and 30, 2023, meetings on the same day Mr. Ingold made the request.³⁴ On behalf of KAAS, Dustin Lien cited "NDCC section 44-04" as the justification for denying the release of the employee severance agreement.³⁵ The reference to "section 44-04" is not a reference to a specific section or statute; it is an entire chapter of the North Dakota Century Code. KAAS now acknowledges that it was not prohibited from disclosing the severance agreement and provided it to Mr. Ingold on or around October 20, 2023.³⁶

The severance agreement was executed by all parties on July 29, 2023, and does not appear to contain any confidential or exempt information.³⁷ The open record was not provided to the requestor until 80 days passed.³⁸ KAAS did not cite to a specific legal authority in its denial to disclose the severance agreement, and no explanation has been provided for the delay in determining that the severance agreement could or must be disclosed. Under these circumstances, it is my opinion that KAAS violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by not responding to Mr. Ingold's request within a reasonable time.

CONCLUSIONS

1. KAAS provided notice of its July 18, 2023, special meeting in substantial compliance
   with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20 because the failure to notify the official newspaper of the special meeting was caused by technical difficulties.
2. KAAS did provide notice of its July 30, 2023, special meeting in substantial compliance
   with N.D.C.C. § 44-04-20.
3. KAAS violated N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18 by not responding to an open records request within
   a reasonable time and failing to give the requester an explanation for the nearly 80-day delay.

³⁴ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM). ³⁵ Email from Dustin Lien to Robert Ingold (Aug. 1, 2023, 3:02 PM). ³⁶ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Annique M. Lockard, Assistant Att'y Gen., Off. of Att'y Gen. (Oct. 20, 2023, 2:45 PM). ³⁷ See Severance Agreement between Ann Hafner & Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv. (July 29, 2023). ³⁸ Email from Tracey Dolezal, President, Killdeer Area Ambulance Serv., to Robert Ingold (Oct. 20, 2023, 1:32 PM).

STEPS NEEDED TO REMEDY VIOLATION

Mr. Ingold has received the requested records. Therefore, there are no further corrective measures required.

Drew H. Wrigley
Attorney General

cc:
Debra Biffert
Robert Ingold