Ross County moves to adopt fee policy for time‑intensive body‑camera records requests

Ross County commissioners discussed a proposed public‑records fee policy that would allow the county to charge for labor‑intensive requests for body‑camera and other long‑form video files.

Speaker 17, who described the problem as “YouTube channels where they basically [post] body cam after body cam,” argued the county should apply charges when requesters seek voluminous footage to monetize it. Speaker 16 summarized the statutory change underlying the proposal, saying the law “allows for $75 an hour up to a maximum of $750, payable upfront before the copies [are] made,” and emphasized that the statute also preserves discretion for waivers in victim or urgent cases.

Commissioners debated scope and process. Supporters said the provision would reduce staff time spent viewing and redacting hours of footage—Speaker 16 noted an hour‑long body camera can require roughly two staff hours for review and redaction. Opponents and other commissioners asked for clear waiver procedures for victims and for guidance from the prosecutor’s office on implementation.

The board directed staff to bring a records‑request fee policy to the commissioners for formal adoption and discussed routing the draft to the records‑retention authority and the prosecutor for review. A motion to place the policy before the board for approval was made and seconded during the meeting.

Next steps: staff will prepare a formal policy and a recommended process for waiver requests and prosecutor review before the board votes to adopt the policy.