Copyright 2005, Fairfield Daily Republic

Supes discuss raising record retrieval fees

(Fairfield Daily Republic 4/25/05) -- A proposal before the Solano County Board of Supervisors would raise costs of certain county services and charge new fees for producing public records.

For example, someone who wants a copy of a politician's campaign finance statement from five years ago would have to pay $5 on top of a 10-cents-per-page copying cost. For reports on election results, a $30 fee would be added to the copying costs.

Only a few years ago such fees weren't allowed because they were considered excessive. But the county contends it has the right to charge the added fees to cover staff time to retrieve the documents.

The records retrieval fees are part of a larger county effort to raise more money for certain services. If the recommendation is approved, the county could rake in an estimated $855,350 next year. Only a small fraction would come from fees associated with providing copying public records.

An opinion published in 2002 by the California Attorney General gives the county authority to impose record retrieval fees, county attorney Wendy Getty said.

Lawyers for the California First Amendment Coalition - a group that tries to protect the public's right to know - couldn't be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

A cursory look at the opinion showed the county has the right to adopt the added fees. But excess charges beyond the costs of copying have been a touchy issue as taxpayers groups have argued they're already paying for county staff time and added fees are unreasonable.

Despite controversy on the issue, county staff is urging the supervisors to recover the costs of services rather than absorb the loss of county employees' time.

The supervisors will take up the matter at a public hearing Tuesday.

The county will also discuss raising booking fees at the county jail and fire protection impact fees that would be tacked on to charges for building permits.

By Matthew Bunk