Brookshire staff to draft open-records fee policy; council seeks options for fees and habitual requesters

BROOKSHIRE, Texas ' The City Council on Sept. 4 discussed possible changes to the city's public information (open records) process, asking staff to draft a policy that would allow the city to charge fees for time and copying when fulfilling requests and to address habitual or intentionally disruptive requesters.

City Attorney Joseph (assistant city attorney) told the council the city can impose fees for copies and staff time for voluminous requests and can adopt an ordinance addressing habitual or disruptive requesters. He said the firm has template forms and ordinances used by other cities and offered to prepare drafts. The mayor and council asked for a two-pronged approach: 1) a fee schedule or threshold that could require payment before staff begins work on a request, and 2) an ordinance to identify and manage habitual or intentionally disruptive requesters.

Council members and staff discussed examples of low-cost requests (a quick e-mail about the mayor's name or a single video link) versus time-consuming requests such as extraction of text messages requiring attorney review. Staff said the forms and options could include an initial no-fee response for simple queries, and fee assessments or estimates for requests that require significant staff or attorney time.

Ending: The council directed the city attorney and staff to prepare a proposed policy and sample ordinance with a range of fee options for council review, including thresholds for when fees apply and procedures for notifying requesters of fees and payment requirements.