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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 406Resolution No. 406 Page 1 of 3 CITY OF MEDINA, WASHINGTON RESOLUTION NO. 406 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MEDINA, WASHINGTON, AMENDING THE CITY OF MEDINA MASTER FEE RESOLUTION TO UPDATE FEES IMPOSED UNDER THE PUBLIC RECORDS ACT; PROVIDING A STATEMENT OF COSTS FOR ACTUAL COSTS IMPOSED UNDER THE FEE SCHEDULE; AND FINDING IT UNDULY BURDENSOME TO CALCULATE ACTUAL COSTS FOR COPY CHARGES PROVIDED FOR IN RCW 42.56.120(2)(b). WHEREAS, the City of Medina desires to impose the statutory default fees established under RCW 42.56.120; and WHEREAS, to impose the statutory default fees established in RCW 42.56.120, an agency must comply with RCW 42.56.070 and issue an order finding that it would be unduly burdensome to calculate actual costs associated with public records requests; and WHEREAS, RCW 42.56.070(7) requires cities to adopt, after notice and a hearing, statements of the factors and manner used to determine any actual costs that the City assesses for providing copies of public records under Chapter RCW 42.56; WHEREAS, appropriate notice was given for this Resolution and a public hearing was held on June 8th, 2020. NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MEDINA, WASHINGTON, RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Fee Schedule Amended. The Public Records Requests section of the City’s Master Fee Resolution, previously adopted by Resolution No. 396, is hereby amended to read as shown in Exhibit A to this Resolution. Section 2. Statement of Actual Costs for Off-Site Copying and Other Charges. The attached fee schedule imposes actual costs for off-site copying by private vendors and for all other methods of providing copies under the Public Records Act that are not specifically provided for elsewhere in the fee schedule. The explanation of these costs and the factors and manner used to determine them contained in the Public Records Act Fee Schedule attached as Exhibit A to this Resolution serves as the City’s statement of actual costs required under RCW42.56.070(7). Section 3. Finding Undue Burden in Calculating Actual Costs for Remainder of Fees Under the Public Records Act. The City finds that it would be unduly burdensome to calculate the actual costs of all other services related to copying, scanning, and distributing records. Such calculation would require the city to parse numerous cost factors (including staff time, depreciation value of copying equipment, ink, paper, electricity, and data-storage and transmission services). Though each of these factors imposes a cost on the City, the individual contribution of each copy to the total costs is so small that attempting to calculate the exact cost of each service could lead to error, and even small errors at the per-page or per-file level could lead to large miscalculations on a general scale. Furthermore, the City does not have the resources to conduct such a detailed study without the study interfering with essential functions of the City. The City therefore adopts the default statutory costs authorized under RCW Resolution No. 406 Page 2 of 3 42.56.120 for all other copying and electronic transmission services, as expressed in the Public Records Act Fee Schedule attached as Exhibit A to this Resolution. PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MEDINA ON THE 8TH DAY OF JUNE 2020 AND SIGNED IN AUTHENTICATION OF ITS PASSAGE THE 8TH DAY OF JUNE 2020. FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: 6/9/2020 PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: 6/8/2020 RESOLUTION NO. 406 Resolution No. 406 Page 3 of 3 Exhibit A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS FEE SCHEDULE Paper copies of ordinances, resolutions, or findings First copy free; all others $0.15 per page Paper copies of all other records $0.15 per page Scanning $0.10 per page On-site inspection of documents No Cost Distribution via digital storage device (e.g., CD, DVD, or thumb drive) • $0.05 for every four files attached or uploaded, • $0.10 per gigabyte of uploaded data, and • The actual cost of any digital storage media (e.g., CD-R, DVD, or thumbdrive). • Distribution via email, cloud-based data storage service, or other means of electronic delivery • $0.05 for every four files attached or uploaded and • $0.10 per gigabyte of transmitted data. Distribution via mail • The actual cost of envelopes or other packaging and • The actual cost of shipping or postage. NOTES: (1) The costs above may be combined to the extent that more than one charge applies to a request. (2) Pursuant to RCW 42.56.120, the City may impose a customized service charge in addition to the charges outlined above for responses requiring information technology expertise to prepare data compilations or to provide customized access services. (3) The City may charge a flat fee of up to $2.00 for a request as an alternative to the fees above if the City reasonably estimates that the fees for the request under this fee schedule will exceed $2.00. (4) Copying and scanning of paper documents larger than 11” x 17” or other unusual documents requires use of an off-site vendor. The City may also, in its discretion, use an outside vendor for large or complex copying or scanning jobs when it would be more efficient to do so. When the City uses an off-side vendor for copying or scanning, the City will charge the requestor the actual cost of the services rendered. The City will pay the vendor directly and seek reimbursement from the requestor before producing the requested copies; (5) City shall not use a requestor’s digital storage device to copy records onto, the reason being that the City wants to avoid contracting viruses and other types of malware that might be present on such devices. The City will instead provide a new digital storage device and charge the requestor accordingly. (6) Any other item not specifically provided for in this list will be charged at a rate that will reimburse the City for its cost of duplicating the item.