Judiciary committee reviews draft public records resolution, holds item for absent commissioner

The Silver Bow County Judiciary Committee on April 9 reviewed a draft resolution proposing a county policy and procedure for responding to public information (FOIA) requests and agreed to continue holding the item until an absent commissioner can review it.

County Attorney presented a draft modeled on a recent Bozeman City Council resolution and pointed committee members to statute 2-6-1006, “public information request — fees,” which is attached to the back of the meeting packet. The county attorney said the draft updates outdated statutory citations in the Bozeman text and lays out a “very simple method for individuals getting information from our county.”

The draft resolution would require requesters to submit a completed information-request form to the clerk and recorder’s office, which would route requests to the responsible department. Departments would return estimates of time and cost, and the requester must confirm willingness to pay before staff proceed. The county attorney said the statute requires using the lowest-paid appropriate employee to compile records and charging only actual copying costs, not a percentage surcharge: “So basically, it's the lowest paid person in the department to gather the information and then cost of copying. And it's actual cost.”

The county attorney said completed productions would be routed to the county attorney’s office for review before release to ensure compliance with what the county can lawfully disclose. The draft leaves some blanks — for example, the specific official in the clerk’s office who would receive and distribute requests — and the county attorney asked committee members to discuss who should be responsible for those duties and to review the draft language.

Committee members also identified at least one outstanding operational question: where fees collected for records requests would be deposited. The county attorney said she will ask Director Hassler to clarify how collected fees should be handled and accounted for once the fee schedule and forms are finalized.

Commissioner Michelle Shea said she did not want a decision made before Commissioner Shays, who is absent, can review the draft. The committee agreed to continue holding communication number 2025-79 for further review at a subsequent judiciary meeting. There was no formal vote to adopt the resolution; the item was deferred for additional review.

The meeting concluded with an adjournment motion and a voice vote in favor of adjournment. The draft resolution and the attached statutory text will return for further discussion after staff and the absent commissioner have had time to review them.