Cost of official records discussed at Riverside Council

Riverside resident Bob Schneider told the Riverside City Council that it charges too much for copies of its official documents. Schneider addressed the council during citizens? time at Monday?s council meeting.

Schneider began his remarks with some advice for the council and other public bodies. He said public officials should leave their disagreements ?on the table? and not allow them to affect the way they treat one another after the meeting.

?Ask questions and share information; otherwise it looks like the decisions were made before you came to the table,? said Schneider. ?Don?t be afraid to ask for data to back up the decision.?

Schneider concluded his remarks by inquiring into the cost of copies of open records.

?The state code said it should be a minimal cost,? said Schneider. ?The county charges 25 cents. The school charges 10 cents. Riverside charges $1. In Iowa City, you can get copies made for 11 cents. I?m sure they?re making a profit at 11 cents. It looks like you?re trying to discourage that flow of information by the cost of the copy.?

The cost of a copy for county government documents depends upon the office from which they are requested. The treasurer?s office, which handles property tax information, charges 25 cents per copy plus an hourly fee for labor. The recorder?s office charges 40 cents per page. The clerk of court?s office charges 50 cents per page.

The auditor?s office charges 50 cents for the first page, 25 cents for the next nine pages and then 10 cents per page after that. Washington County Auditor Bill Fredrick said his staff also charge an hourly fee if they are asked to do research.

Iowa City adopted a resolution in 2006, which established the price of copies in its municipal offices at 15 cents per page. According to its city clerk, Marian Karr, the cost has remained 15 cents per page since then.

The Riverside City Council passed a resolution on Feb. 2, 2009, which set the price of copies and faxes at $1 per page. Color copies are the same price as black and white copies. Copies of paper larger than 8 ½ by 11 inches were set at $2 per page. The city charges $20 for a DVD for its audio and video recordings. The city charges $20 per hour for any research its staff does looking for documents.

The minutes from that February meeting state that the then City Administrator Tina Thomas researched the cost of those items with the League of Cities and other towns and put the average cost of those items in the resolution.

The acceptable cost of public records is set forth in Chapter 22 of the Code of Iowa. Chapter 22 section 2 states there shall be no charge for examining a public record while it remains in the possession of a lawful custodian, ?unless otherwise provided for by law.?

In Chapter 22 section 3, the code states, ?All expenses of the examination and copying shall be paid by the person desiring to examine or copy. The lawful custodian may charge a reasonable fee for the services of the lawful custodian or the custodian?s authorized designee in supervising the examination and copying of the records. If copy equipment is available at the office of the lawful custodian of any public records, the lawful custodian shall provide any person a reasonable number of copies of any public record in the custody of the office upon the payment of a fee.?

The code goes on to state, ?The fee for the copying service as determined by the lawful custodian shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the service. Actual costs shall include only those expenses directly attributable to supervising the examination of and making and providing copies of public records.?

The code states that actual costs should not include charges for the depreciation, maintenance, electricity, employment benefits or the insurance associated with the administration of the office.

In other news, the council voted unanimously to release the escrow on St. Mary?s site plan, which was for $25,000.

Councilor Christine Kirkwood told the council that the church she belongs to may soon undergo construction. She asked if she would have to refrain from voting on any motions that pertain to that church since she is a member. Mayor Brian McDole said the councilors must abstain from voting on a motion where they stand to gain financially. He said Kirkwood would not have to recuse herself from voting on issues about her church.

The council unanimously approved a resolution to appoint Missy Carter the city clerk.

The council also discussed a referendum to impose a 1 percent local option sales and services tax. The council voted to table the motion so it could receive more information about the tax from Fredrick before taking any steps.

Jim Leyden of the Riverside Community Visioning informed the council that the name of the trail that runs through town will be called ?Riverside Trail.?