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Olympia council removes city-created nonprofit exemption for body-worn camera redaction fees
Summary
Council voted to adopt a revised fee structure for redacting body-worn-camera footage that removes a city-created exemption for nonprofits. Staff said the city-created exemption was open to abuse and most requesters already fall under state exemptions.
The Olympia City Council voted Feb. 25 to adopt a revised fee structure for redacting police body-worn camera footage under Washington’s Public Records Act and to remove a city-created exemption for nonprofit organizations.
Michael Fulmer, deputy city clerk, presented the staff review and recommendation. Fulmer said state law provides certain exemptions from redaction fees — for example, individuals involved in an incident and their attorneys — and that roughly 90% of the city’s requesters fall under those state exemptions. He told the council that a 2022 public survey had shown a plurality of respondents felt that only the state-mandated exemptions were necessary and that staff concluded a city-created nonprofit exemption was open to misuse because registering as a nonprofit in Washington is relatively easy.
Fulmer said the city’s updated fee study adopted in May 2024 is expected to save the city an estimated $15,000 a year in staff time and that expanding a local nonprofit exemption could increase workload by encouraging voluminous public-records requests. He recommended removing the nonprofit exemption; Council members expressed support for the recommendation during discussion. The council adopted the revised fee structure by voice vote.
Mayor Pro Tem (recommendation on the dais) moved the motion to adopt the resolution to remove the city-created nonprofit exemption and update fees; the motion passed on a voice vote.
