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County attorney outlines public-records rules, cautions against posting fixed fees on website
Summary
Greene County's county attorney advised commissioners on public-records response practices: staff time cannot be charged, fees should be limited to actual costs (e.g., copying), most requests will produce no charge, and routine responses generally take one to two weeks depending on complexity.
Greene County’s county attorney addressed commissioners about public-records requests and recommended how the county should present information to the public.
The county attorney advised against listing a fixed fee on the county website for public-records requests, saying state law limits what local governments may charge. “You cannot charge, for example, the time for the work involved. If a public request for information comes to me, and I actually process that request and send that request out, I cannot charge for my time,” the county attorney said. He added that they are permitted to charge limited fees for actual costs — for example, 25 cents per page — but that many modern requests are fulfilled electronically and would not generate a paper-copy charge.
On response timing, the county attorney said routine or simple requests might be handled in an hour or a few days, and that more complicated requests typically take one to two weeks depending on staff workload and the nature of the records. He also noted privacy limits: the county must not produce private personal information such as Social Security numbers, and that some personnel or private addresses are not public.
The board discussed practical steps the county can take to set expectations for requesters, such as (1) placing a general advisory on the records webpage that requesters “may be charged” for certain costly requests, and (2) notifying requesters promptly with an estimated completion time and whether a fee will apply.
