Freeport council adopts $10 fee for non-city notary services, asks staff to draft policy

The City of Freeport council voted Sept. 9 to charge $10 for non-city notary services performed by city employees and asked staff to return with a formal policy for council adoption.

Council members debated whether city employees should notarize private documents while on the clock, raising questions about notary logs, liability and consistency with fees charged by the planning department. "If that's a city document, that's something we're requiring we should be charging them for," a council member said during the discussion. Another member said weddings and other ceremonies should not be performed during paid city time.

City staff said some departments historically have notarized documents for residents without charge, while planning charges $10 for non-city documents. The council discussed two options: limit notarizations to official city business or adopt a consistent fee schedule. Councilman Ferris said a uniform $10 fee would both assist residents and offset costs. "I think it needs to be $10 across the board," he said.

The council approved the $10 fee and instructed staff to draft a resolution and policy to be returned on a future consent agenda for formal adoption. The transcript did not include a roll-call tally for the vote.

The council also asked staff to clarify whether the $10 charge would apply per document or per signing session when drafting the policy; during discussion some members suggested $10 per signature.