TITLE
A Resolution of the Mayor and City Council of the City of Maricopa, Arizona, modifying fees and charges for public records and providing for the repeal of conflicting resolutions. Discussion and Action.
AGENDA ITEM DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this fee schedule update is to update the fee for copies for police and fire reports. The last time police report fees were adopted was in 2007. That fee is $5 for the 1st 35 pages and $0.15 per page after 35 pages. In addition to updating the report fees, staff would like to add a fee for photo records as well as video and audio recordings. All requests for videos require that a staff member sit and review the video in its entirety and make the necessary redactions, if necessary. If the video recordings involve minors, it can take hours to redact as each image of the minor has to be blurred out. This year, the legislature passed SB1148 which allows municipalities to charge a fee not to exceed $46 per video hour reviewed for a copy of a video recording. Staff is recommending that we charge a flat fee of $45 per copy. In reviewing what other cities charge, we found that it ranges from $25 per copy to the full $46 per hour as allowed by law.
In accordance with A.R.S. §9-499.15, public notice of the proposed fee increase was given for 60 days on the city's website. The notice was posted on September 13, 2023. Revised fees are to be considered as an action item by the City Council. If the City Council approves the modified and proposed fees, they will become effective on December 21, 2023. Below is general breakdown of the proposed fees:
|
Copies of Police and Fire Reports |
|
Less than 10 pages |
$5.00 |
|
10 to 29 Pages |
$10.00 |
|
30 to 49 Pages |
$15.00 |
|
50 to 100 Pages |
$20.00 |
|
Over 100 Pages |
$20 + $0.15 per page over 100 pages |
|
|
|
Photo Records |
|
Digital Copies |
$10.00 per disk or thumb drive |
|
Printed Copies |
$5.00 per copy |
|
|
|
|
Recordings |
|
Video Recordings |
$45.00 per copy |
|
Audio Recordings |
$10.00 per copy |
The full schedule of public record fees is attached to the resolution. It includes current approved fees as well as the proposed fees.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval of the proposed fees.