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Commissioners direct staff to draft public‑records fee resolution after reviewing sample schedules
Summary
After reviewing sample fee schedules from other Wyoming counties, commissioners asked staff to draft a resolution establishing Weston County’s public‑records fee schedule and to circulate it for review; the board discussed per‑page copy charges, electronic media fees, and staff search time charges.
Weston County commissioners reviewed sample public‑records fee schedules from other Wyoming counties and directed county staff March 18 to draft a fee‑schedule resolution for board consideration. The move followed a staff request for direction on reasonable per‑page copying charges, electronic delivery fees and charges for staff time when requests require substantial clerical or technical work.
Key points the board discussed included: (1) a 50¢ per‑side black‑and‑white copy charge and $2 per‑side color charge for paper copies; (2) a flat fee for electronic media (example: $10 for a 4‑GB USB drive) with “actual cost” for larger media or vendor‑produced copies; (3) a standard hourly staff charge after the first 15 minutes of staff time for complex searches; and (4) an explicit statement that maps or vendor‑produced items will be priced at actual cost. Commissioners asked that the draft resolution quote the state statute language on "reasonable fees" and that staff circulate the proposed schedule to department heads (including sheriff/records) for input before the board votes.
Why it matters: A clear county fee schedule reduces ambiguity for requesters and staff, speeds processing and helps the county recover clerical and material costs on large or complex public‑records requests.
Next steps: Staff will prepare a resolution and proposed fee schedule, circulate it to department heads for comment, and place the resolution on a future agenda for formal adoption.
