(A) The Village Council shall adopt by separate resolution a schedule of fees to be charged in connection with a request to inspect, copy, or receive copies of a public record under the FOIA.
(B) The fees authorized in division (A) above shall comply with all of the following.
(1) The fees shall be limited to actual mailing costs, the actual incremental cost of duplication or publication, and the cost of labor directly attributable to those tasks.
(2) The fees may include the cost to search, examine, review, and to delete and separate exempt from non-exempt information, including the cost of labor directly attributable to those tasks, but only when the failure to charge such a fee would result in unreasonably high costs to the village. For purposes of this division (B)(2), an unreasonably high cost will be incurred by the village when the search, examination, review, and the deletion and separation of exempt from non-exempt information exceeds in the aggregate more than three hours. The village hereby specifically states that devoting more than three hours of staff time to complying with a FOIA request results in unreasonably high costs to the village, since that amount of time is beyond the normal time devoted to servicing ordinary requests by the general public.
(3) The calculation of any labor costs allowed by this section shall include the hourly wage of the lowest paid village employee capable of retrieving the information necessary to comply with the request under the FOIA, and shall utilize the most economical means available for making copies of the requested public records.
(4) The fees shall be uniform and not dependent upon the identity of the requesting person.
(5) A search for a public record may be conducted or copies of public records may be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge if the FOIA Coordinator determines that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest because searching for or furnishing copies of the public record can be considered as primarily benefitting the general public.
(6) A public record search shall be made and a copy of a public record shall be furnished without charge for the first $20 of the fee for each request to an individual who is entitled to information under the FOIA and who submits an affidavit stating that the individual is then receiving public assistance or, if not receiving public assistance, stating facts showing inability to pay the cost because of indigence, For purposes of this division (B)(6), the criteria for indigence shall be the federal poverty income guidelines, which are updated annually by the federal government.
(7) If the fee authorized by this section exceeds $50, the FOIA Coordinator may require the person requesting the public records or series of public records to pay at the time the request is made a good faith deposit in an amount not to exceed one-half the total fee.
(8) The fees authorized by this section shall not apply to public records prepared under an act or statute specifically authorizing the sale of those public records to the public, or if the amount of the fee for providing a copy of the public record is otherwise specifically provided by a state statute or by separate resolution or ordinance of the village.
(Res. 2 of 2014, passed 11-10-2014)