A. Imposition Of Fees: A reasonable fee for the recovery of the cost of document copying or mechanical reproduction shall be charged. In those instances where the request is made solely for commercial purposes or clearly would cause excessive disruption of essential functions of any department, a fee shall also be assessed to recover the direct cost of document search. A schedule of the fees shall be as set by the city council for the document copying and document search per copy for law enforcement records and for other municipal records. Such fees shall be payable to the city clerk for receipt into the general fund. The fees schedule shall be posted with the city clerk and with the county clerk.
B. Exception To Fee Charge: In no case shall a search fee be charged when the release of the documents is made to the news media, scholars, authors and taxpayers seeking to determine whether those entrusted with the affairs of the city are honestly, faithfully, and competently performing their duties.
C. False Claims: Any person, firm or entity who attempts to avoid the fees established by this chapter for copying, reproduction or search, by falsely claiming to be exempt, as set out above, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. (1987 Code § 2-605)