Access sometimes is costly

By Kelly Kearsley
The (Tacoma) News Tribune

Local government agencies have put a price on public information - and it's not always cheap.

A statewide public records audit by 25 newspapers discovered that while most agencies don't charge anything for their records, some agencies are making people pay much more than state law allows.

State law says agencies may charge for actual copying costs, an amount that should not exceed 15 cents per page. It also says people should not have to pay to inspect a record or to have someone find it for them.

About three-quarters of the documents received by the media organizations were provided free. Other documents were obtained for 10 to 15 cents a copy. Still others came at a cost of 25 cents to $5, and one document was $10.

And some agencies had additional "research" fees ranging from $8 per search to $50 per hour.

When a woman walked into the Skagit County sheriff's office to request a report on a property crime, the clerk charged her $20 to find, review and "edit" the document.

Records technician Barb Suit said the charge was created in a 1984 county ordinance and that "no one has ever had a problem with it before."

However, at the Skagit County Commissioners Office, staff assistant Karen Turner said she usually charges 15 cents a page for public records "because it's state law."

The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department charged an $8 "research" fee for requesting a restaurant inspection.

Cliff Allo, an attorney for the agency, said that fee was a mistake.

"In the past, adding in the cost of finding a record was thought to be legitimate," Allo said. "But after examining disclosure laws, we know it is not."

The health board changed its fee to the price suggested by state law not long after being contacted by The News Tribune. Deputy Director Vic Harris said that while no one else had ever complained about the cost of copies, the board's attorney already had been talking about changing the fees.

Chip Holcomb, senior counsel with the state Attorney General's Office, acknowledged that laws regarding record fees can be confusing.

"These kinds of problems are out of ignorance and not out of bad intent," he said. "Most agencies don't have a clue when it comes to these laws."

Examples:

Examples of what some agencies list as their costs for producing copies of public records:

State law says agencies may charge for actual copying costs, an amount that should not exceed 15 cents per page, but many agencies have different charges:

  • Kittitas County Health Department: $50 per hour research fee
  • Skagit County Sheriff's Department: $20 flat fee plus $1 per copy
  • Shelton Police Department: $3 research fee
  • Walla Walla County Sheriff's Department: $10 a copy
  • Richland Police Department (Benton County): $5 a copy
  • Pasco Police Department (Franklin County): $5 a copy
  • Yakima County Sheriff's Department: $5 a copy
  • Centralia Police Department (Lewis County): $3 a copy
  • Seattle Police Department: $1 a copy
  • Kitsap County Sheriff's Department: $1 a copy

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