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Council adopts new public‑records fee schedule to comply with Montana law
Summary
Council adopted Resolution 25-32 to align the city's public‑records fee schedule with Montana House Bill 100; staff time fees capped at $25/hour with the first hour free, and permissible charges include scanning, copying and postage.
The city council voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 25-32, updating the city’s public-records fee schedule to comply with Montana House Bill 100.
City attorney Angie told the council HB100 limits the fees the city may charge for staff time and that the first hour of staff time responding to a records request is free. "We basically revised resolution ... and so the following fees will apply to all public records requests: the cost of providing the information, scanning, copying, postage costs ... and staff time at $25 an hour, the first hour is free," Angie said.
Angie said tighter limits could reduce some revenue but noted the city will still be able to charge for reasonable costs such as scanning and postage; she also explained staff will still screen requests for attorney-client privileged material. After a short question about the meaning of “readily available,” the council voted to approve the resolution.
Rebecca, who said she previously paid $65/hour to review a large file, said she welcomed the lower fees for requesters.
The resolution was adopted after the public hearing and is intended to bring the city into compliance with state law.
