Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Records topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mill Creek proposes electronic file fee and $10 police‑report charge for non‑parties
Summary
City staff proposed an Electronic File Flat Rate (EFFR) of $0.25 per record (first five records free) for public-records electronic transmissions and a $10 flat fee for police reports requested by people not directly involved in an incident; staff described a time‑study methodology and said scanned/page charges remain at statutory defaults.
City staff presented proposed updates to Mill Creek's public records request fee schedule during the second public hearing on Dec. 2, explaining the methodology used to compute actual copying and transmission costs.
Records staff said the city currently follows the state's statutory default copy fees (15¢ per paper page, 10¢ per scanned page and 5¢ per set of four electronic files) but proposed replacing the per‑file statutory electronic rule with an Electronic File Flat Rate (EFFR). Using timed tests and an average staff cost including benefits ($1.36 per minute), staff reported an average time per file of 0.206 minutes and calculated a per‑file staff cost of roughly $0.28; they proposed rounding down to $0.25 per record for requests of six or more files while providing the first five files at no charge.
For police records, staff proposed two tiers: parties to an incident would pay the EFFR (per file), while requesters not directly involved in an incident would pay a $10 flat fee per report. Staff said that the $10 fee was derived from a timed average for preparing and transmitting police files (about seven-and-a-half minutes at the per‑minute rate). For newer data sources (the "flock" camera system), staff said they would apply the EFFR until best practices are determined.
Staff noted they will continue to charge actual costs for mailing or USB drives; they also said they will not charge for staff time spent searching for, reviewing, or redacting records (statutory limitations). Council opened and closed the hearing without public comment; staff will return ordinance language for council consideration next week.
