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Crowley adopts public-records fee schedule in ordinance 15-49
Summary
The Crowley Board of Aldermen approved Ordinance No. 15-49 on April 8, 2025, establishing a public records request policy and a new fee schedule that sets per-page and itemized charges for production of city records; the ordinance clarifies that statutory deadlines remain governed by state law.
The Crowley Board of Aldermen voted April 8 to adopt Ordinance No. 15-49, enacting a public records request policy and a fee schedule that sets charges for producing city records.
The ordinance, offered by Alderman Vernon Martin and seconded by Alderman Marks, sets specific fees for common document types and requires the city to post fees online. Among the fees listed in the ordinance are photocopies (8.5-by-11 or smaller) at $1 per page for the first 25 pages and $0.50 per page thereafter; certified copies at $20 per certification; videos at $30 per video; photos at $1 per photo; accident and code-violation reports at $10 per report; and standardized map reproductions ranging from $5 to $36 depending on size.
At a public hearing before the vote, a resident, identified in the record as Miss Stringfellow, asked for clarification about the measure and whether the ordinance also changed filing or response deadlines. "What this ordinance is?" she asked. The meeting leader explained that the item aligned the city with other municipalities on fees and that deadlines remain controlled by state statute. When Stringfellow followed up, "So there's no change in the dates? It's just fees?" the official replied, "No. Just the fees because the dates, are state statutes." The ordinance also directs that the fee schedule be posted on the city website.
Nut graf: The ordinance formalizes costs the city may recover when producing records for public inspection or copying; while fees were specified in detail, the council and staff emphasized that statutory response time requirements are unchanged because those are set by state law.
Council members ran through a roll call vote after the hearing. The ordinance passed unanimously on the recorded roll call. The ordinance text repeals conflicting ordinances and declares the provisions separable if any part is held invalid.
The aldermen and staff said the city will post the fee schedule and associated public-records procedures to the municipal website and make printed copies available on request.
Votes at a glance: Ordinance No. 15-49 (public records policy and fee schedule) — offered by Alderman Vernon Martin, seconded by Alderman Marks; roll-call vote recorded as Yes by Joe Gaskin, Paige Shatsoff, Greg Orr, Jeff Moray, Vicky (last name not specified), Dickey (last name not specified), Vernon Martin, Sandy Martin; outcome: approved.
Ending: The ordinance takes effect per the language in the text; the council did not change statutory response deadlines and directed staff to publish the fee schedule online.
