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AGENDA ITEM REVIEW FORM |
7.C.
Regular City Council Meeting
- Meeting Date:
- 02/28/2024
- Department Head:
- Nigel Reynoso
- Submitted By:
- Michelle Boucher, Police Administrator, Police Department
Action Requested:
Motion
ITEM:
Discussion and possible action on any and all matters regarding adopting a Notice of Intention to amend the fees to the Public Records Request Fee Schedule. (Nigel I. Reynoso, Chief of Police)
SUMMARY:
Our current Public Records Request Fee Schedule was not originally written with the time and personnel it takes to redact body camera footage in mind. The body camera program has been a recent addition to most law enforcement agencies, and updates will be needed as the program grows with time.
The fee update is necessary to ensure that the fees we collect are fair, reasonable, and in line with the costs associated with processing publicly requested body camera footage. Based on Senate Bill 1148 of the 2023 Fifty-sixth Legislature – First Regular Session codified at A.R.S. § 39-129, we are asking for approval to implement the fee of $46 per video hour redacted, the statutory allowed amount. The $46 per video hour reviewed is needed for the time reviewing, transmitting, making a copy, and redacting a video recording for public release. This fee will apply to all persons who submit a public record request for a law enforcement video recording except to a victim as described in ARS § 39-127. The proposed fee adjustments are based on several factors, including a comparative analysis with neighboring jurisdictions and the actual staff time spent processing each redaction. An hour of video usually requires three hours of processing/redacting the video recording. For requests, staff will estimate the cost, which will be paid in advance as a deposit until the actual charge is calculated for the final payment.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 39-129. Local law enforcement; video recordings; fee Except as provided in A.R.S. Section 39-127, a county, a city, a town, or any political subdivision of this state may establish a one-time fee per copy, not to exceed $46 per video-hour reviewed, that is charged to a person who submits a public records request to a local law enforcement agency for a copy of a video recording. A county, a city, a town, or any political subdivision of this state may take into consideration the following information when determining the amount of the one-time fee per copy: 1. The reasonable cost of reviewing, transmitting, making a copy of, and, as necessary, redacting the video recording. 2. Any other relevant information.
Notice.
Under A.R.S. § 9-499.15, the city must provide written notice of the proposed fee on the city's website for at least sixty (60) days before the City Council considers the fee. Staff will return at the May 8, 2024, Council Meeting for Council to consider the fee. This item is to approve the notice of intent that will be posted on city's website.
The fee update is necessary to ensure that the fees we collect are fair, reasonable, and in line with the costs associated with processing publicly requested body camera footage. Based on Senate Bill 1148 of the 2023 Fifty-sixth Legislature – First Regular Session codified at A.R.S. § 39-129, we are asking for approval to implement the fee of $46 per video hour redacted, the statutory allowed amount. The $46 per video hour reviewed is needed for the time reviewing, transmitting, making a copy, and redacting a video recording for public release. This fee will apply to all persons who submit a public record request for a law enforcement video recording except to a victim as described in ARS § 39-127. The proposed fee adjustments are based on several factors, including a comparative analysis with neighboring jurisdictions and the actual staff time spent processing each redaction. An hour of video usually requires three hours of processing/redacting the video recording. For requests, staff will estimate the cost, which will be paid in advance as a deposit until the actual charge is calculated for the final payment.
Arizona Revised Statutes § 39-129. Local law enforcement; video recordings; fee Except as provided in A.R.S. Section 39-127, a county, a city, a town, or any political subdivision of this state may establish a one-time fee per copy, not to exceed $46 per video-hour reviewed, that is charged to a person who submits a public records request to a local law enforcement agency for a copy of a video recording. A county, a city, a town, or any political subdivision of this state may take into consideration the following information when determining the amount of the one-time fee per copy: 1. The reasonable cost of reviewing, transmitting, making a copy of, and, as necessary, redacting the video recording. 2. Any other relevant information.
Notice.
Under A.R.S. § 9-499.15, the city must provide written notice of the proposed fee on the city's website for at least sixty (60) days before the City Council considers the fee. Staff will return at the May 8, 2024, Council Meeting for Council to consider the fee. This item is to approve the notice of intent that will be posted on city's website.
RECOMMENDATION / SUGGESTED MOTION:
I MOVE TO APPROVE THE NOTICE OF INTENT AS PRESENTED.
Fiscal Impact
- IS THERE FISCAL IMPACT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ITEM:
- No
- CITY/STATE/FEDERAL FUNDS:
- N/A
- TOTAL:
- N/A
- BUDGETED AMOUNT:
- N/A
- AVAILABLE AMOUNT TO TRANSFER:
- N/A
- ACCT NAME & GL#/REMAINING BALANCE BEFORE PURCHASE:
- N/A
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT (IF THIS IS A BUDGET TRANSFER, YOU MUST ATTACH THE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT FORM):
There is no fiscal impact for this item, it merely approves a form of notice.