Hamlet council adopts ordinance to recoup staff and legal costs for extensive public-records requests

The Hamlet City Council voted to adopt a public-records cost-recovery ordinance intended to recover reasonable personnel and legal costs for voluminous requests. City staff said the city has incurred approximately $18,000 in legal fees responding to extensive public-records requests since July 2025 and proposed charging for requests requiring more than three hours of cumulative staff time.

City manager (unnamed in the record) summarized the proposal: "This ordinance states that public records requests requiring more than 3 hours of cumulative staff time to locate, review, and will incur the special service charge consistent with general statute 130 two-6.2." Supporters said the measure is meant to preserve staff time and taxpayer dollars while maintaining transparency; a council member said it simply recovers costs for paper, toner and storage. Opponents argued the charge could burden citizens seeking information.

A motion to adopt the ordinance was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; at least one council member registered opposition during the vote. The council did not record a roll-call tally in the public portion of the transcript. Council members asked staff for clarifications about what the legal-fee figure covered; staff confirmed the $18,000 cited was legal fees only, not materials or staff time.