(a) FEE means the total fee or any component of the total fee calculated under § 208.05, including any deposit.
(b) If a requestor believes that the fee charged by the city to process a FOIA request exceeds the amount permitted by state law or under this policy, he or she must first appeal to the City Council by submitting a written appeal for a fee reduction to the office of the City Manager.
(c) The appeal must be in writing, specifically state the word “appeal” and identify how the required fee exceeds the amount permitted. The city’s FOIA appeal form (to appeal an excess fee) may be used.
(d) The City Council is not considered to have received a written appeal until the first regularly scheduled City Council meeting following submission of the written appeal.
(e) Within ten business days after receiving the appeal, the City Council will respond in writing by:
(1) Waiving the fee;
(2) Reducing the fee and issuing a written determination indicating the specific basis that supports the remaining fee;
(3) Upholding the fee and issuing a written determination indicating the specific basis that supports the required fee; or
(4) Issuing a notice detailing the reason or reasons for extending for not more than ten business days the period during which the City Council will respond to the written appeal. The City Council shall not issue more than one notice of extension for a particular written appeal.
(f) Where the City Council reduces or upholds the fee, the determination must include a certification from the City Council that the statements in the determination are accurate and that the reduced fee amount complies with its publicly available procedures and guidelines and § 208.05.
(g) Within 45 days after receiving notice of the City Council’s determination of an appeal, the requesting person may commence a civil action in County Circuit Court for a fee reduction.
(h) If a civil action is commenced against the city for an excess fee, the city is not obligated to complete the processing of the written request for the public record at issue until the court resolves the fee dispute.
(i) An action shall not be filed in circuit court unless one of the following applies:
(1) The city does not provide for appeals of fees;
(2) The City Council failed to respond to a written appeal as required; or
(3) The City Council issued a determination to a written appeal.
(j) If a court determines that the city required a fee that exceeds the amount permitted under its publicly available procedures and guidelines or § 208.05, the court shall reduce the fee to a permissible amount. Failure to comply with an order of the court may be punished as contempt of court.
(k) If the requesting person prevails in court by receiving a reduction of 50% or more of the total fee, the court may, in its discretion, award all or an appropriate portion of reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and disbursements. The award shall be assessed against the public body liable for damages.
(l) If the court determines that the city has arbitrarily and capriciously violated the FOIA by charging an excessive fee, the court shall order the city to pay a civil fine of $500, which shall be deposited in the General Fund of the State Treasury. The court may also award, in addition to any actual or compensatory damages, punitive damages in the amount of $500 to the person seeking the fee reduction. The fine and any damages shall not be assessed against an individual, but shall be assessed against the next succeeding public body that is not an individual and that kept or maintained the public record as part of its public function.