Sioux Falls wants to charge more for fulfilling public information requests
Fees haven’t been modified in two decades
The cost of obtaining public safety records could soon be going up in South Dakota’s largest city.
The Sioux Falls Police Department is asking City Councilors to OK a proposal to increase many of the fees it can charge when fulfilling requests for records like photographs, videos, and other documentation frequently sought by insurance companies, attorneys and the general public. And in some cases, City Hall wants them more than doubled from what’s traditionally been allowed in ordinance.
Police Chief Jon Thum told the Council Tuesday the existing fee schedule has been unchanged for at least 20 years. And with inflation over that time, the true cost for staff to compile requested records now far exceeds the amount City Hall is able to charge.
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“The fees are currently so low for the police department they don’t cover the actual costs of retrieving that information,” he said, adding that the proposal would make the fee schedule for records requests uniform across all Sioux Falls public safety agencies
That’s why the hourly rate of $7.50 for staff time that can be charged would jump to $20 under the proposal, slated for a final vote at the Council’s Jan. 9 meeting.
Changes in technology and media consumption are also driving some proposed changes to the existing fee schedule. For instance, it’s no longer necessary for the ordinance to specify varying fees for accident photographs based on size and dimensions — a product of digital photography. Instead, the proposal would set one fee — $30 — for being provided photos or videos on a USB drive or compact disc (CD). There’s also no longer a need for copies of fingerprints on physical cards, Thum said.