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Yelm retains waiver for tiny records fees after council debate on fee schedule
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about small public‑records charges and merchant/credit‑card costs, the Yelm City Council approved Resolution 667 on June 9 to update the fee schedule but included an amendment to waive fees under $2.
The Yelm City Council on June 9 approved Resolution 667 to update the city’s fee schedule and, after debate, adopted an amendment to continue waiving fees under $2 for small public‑records requests.
Staff explained that the updated schedule removed a previous provision that waived fees under $2; staff said the change was intended to prevent professional requesters from making very large or automated requests without recourse and to allow deposits for notably large requests. Staff cited the state law approach used for electronic records, noting the city could charge ‘‘5 cents for every four files’’ and ‘‘10 cents per gigabyte’’ for uploaded electronic files under the referenced statute.
During discussion Council member Hes raised concerns that merchant and credit‑card processing fees could exceed the revenue from tiny charges, asking about the cost of running a credit card and whether the city could end up losing money on small transactions. Kathy, a staff member who presented the fee schedule, said the intent was not to make access harder for residents and that police reports for victims would remain free. She said the city would use deposits for very large requests so staff time would not be expended on requests the requester cannot or will not pay for.
Council member Kangiser moved to approve Resolution 667 with an amendment to waive fees under $2; Councilor Richardson seconded the motion. The council approved the amendment and the resolution by voice vote; no roll‑call tally was recorded in the transcript.
Staff and councilors discussed operational details: how fees would be calculated for multi‑file electronic requests, whether front‑end deposits are required for large requests, and how payment would be handled for police records (staff said police do not accept payments at their counter and staff would coordinate payment by phone or in person before releasing records).
Next steps: the resolution was approved with the waiver under $2 in place; staff will implement the updated fee schedule and coordinate any operational steps required for accepting payments and deposits.
