Some question costs for copies of records
By The Associated Press
09.07.02
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Some people are questioning the fees local South Carolina governments charge for copies of public documents.
State law says governments should charge the lowest possible fee for copies of information, but there is no formula to determine the cost.
The intent of the Freedom of Information Act is to get information to the public as cheaply as possible, said Bill Rogers, executive director of the South Carolina Press Association. There has been a trend of public bodies making a profit on providing copies, Rogers said.
The Myrtle Beach Police Department increased the charge for copies of reports from $1 to $10 in July.
The Horry County Solid Waste Authority charges $20 per hour plus a per-copy fee of 25 cents a page. That's the "going rate," said Carson Benton, chairman of the authority.
The 1999 policy set the labor cost at a "blended rate" of $20 an hour for all staff time involved, combining that of upper management and clerks.
"The law doesn't allow for a blended rate," Rogers said. "The law says actual cost."
Surfside Beach uses the hourly rate of the person who actually researched and compiled the information.
The state-owned utility, Santee Cooper, uses the midpoint salary of the position of the person used to research and compile the request — multiplied by 1.5. There is a minimum $5 charge for any request that requires research. Copies are $1 for the first page and 6 cents for more pages.
"We are simply looking to recover our overhead cost," said Willard Strong, Santee Cooper spokesman. "We are not trying to make a profit on providing information available under state law."
Myrtle Beach resident Jim Smith balked at having to pay the city $1,510 for all lease agreements and statements dealing with the use or reservation of baseball fields and other facilities.
"It's a joke," Smith said.
The city said it was a broad request. It did not charge Smith for copies, but did charge for labor according to the hourly wages of those who researched the request — 32 hours at $12.55, 30 hours at $24.06 and 20 hours at $19.37.
A bill before the General Assembly last session would have required public bodies to charge no more than commercial copiers. The bill failed.
Rep. Jim McGee, R-Florence, a former journalist, says he will reintroduce the bill next year. He said the law needs to be changed so all public bodies charge actual cost.
"Some entities use that provision to prevent people from getting public information," McGee said.