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City adopts public-records fee schedule to comply with new state law
Summary
The Commission adopted Resolution 10627 to align the city's public-records procedures with House Bill 100; the policy increases statutory free staff time from 30 to 60 minutes and permits $25/hour thereafter and a 3% credit-card fee.
The City Commission adopted Resolution 10627 on June 2 to update the public-records request procedure and fee schedule to comply with 2025 state changes contained in House Bill 100, effective July 1, 2026.
Deputy City Manager Jeremy Jones explained the central change: "the first hour of staff time must now be provided at no charge." Under the new schedule, the first 60 minutes of staff time are free; any additional staff time may be charged up to $25 per hour plus allowable costs for copies, postage, and digital media. The resolution also authorizes a 3% credit-card processing fee for payments made through the City's JustFOIA request tracking software, consistent with Mont. Code Ann. § 7-6-617.
Jones noted the city's historical record-requests workload: 245 requests in 2024 with $264 collected in fees, and 325 requests in 2025 with $402 collected. Staff told the Commission they expect only a minor fiscal impact from doubling the free staff time, and recommended adopting the resolution to remain compliant with state law.
Mayor Cory Reeves opened the public hearing and found no speakers in favor or opposition. Commissioner Shannon Wilson moved to adopt the resolution; Commissioner Casey Schreiner seconded. The Commission voted 5-0 to adopt Resolution 10627.
