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Director upholds $46 charge and denies Fletcher’s GRAMA appeal over search scope and fee waiver
Summary
Director Lonnie Pearson denied Mister Fletcher’s appeal challenging Hilldale City’s records search and fee-waiver denial, finding a $46 charge (two hours) reasonable and that Fletcher provided no grounds for a fee waiver; written decision to follow within seven business days.
Lonnie Pearson, director of the Department of Government Records (DGO), denied an appeal from Mister Fletcher challenging Hilldale City’s handling of a broad GRAMA records request and the city’s denial of a fee waiver.
Fletcher argued the city provided only final decision documents and failed to search or disclose supporting enclosures for historical items (he cited a 1991 Maxwell Park stonework packet and missing U.S. Army Corps enclosures). He said the city did not describe which repositories were searched, supplied an invoice that included administrative time, and that without a documented scope he could not assess the reasonableness of the search.
Counsel for Hilldale, Mister Young, said the city complied with GRAMA, produced 10 documents for the first two categories, and reasonably estimated that completing the broader request would require additional time and fees under the statutory “extraordinary circumstances” standard. Young told the director Fletcher had authorized up to $50 of fees and declined to pay the estimated additional funds needed to complete the wider search.
During questioning, Director Pearson focused on the fee-waiver issue and whether the initial $50 authorization meant Fletcher had consented to up to $50 of work without a prior estimate. The director found that two hours of staff time (the source of the $46 charge) was within a reasonable range for the request as submitted, and that Fletcher had not demonstrated any statutory basis for a fee waiver or that he was unable to pay.
“I don’t think the $46 that was assessed is unreasonable,” Pearson said on the record, and he added that while follow-up, narrower requests may be appropriate to obtain additional material, the record did not support setting aside the fee assessment. The director announced he would issue a written decision within seven business days; either party may appeal to district court within 30 calendar days.
The ruling resolves the narrow fee and waiver question but does not reach the broader question of whether the city’s search methods were reasonable in every respect; Pearson noted follow-up requests and more narrowly drawn queries would be an appropriate next step for Fletcher.