2004 AGN JUN 01 I01 - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

CITY CLERK DEPARTMENT INCREASED FEES DUPLICATION OF AUDIO AND VIDEO TAPES Currently the City Clerk's office charges $10.00 to duplicate audio and video tapes if the requester provides a blank tape. If the City must provide the tape, then the current duplication fee is $15.00. The basic fee of $10.00 was intended to recover the staff member's time for preparation of a duplicate tape, with an additional fee of $5.00 if the City must purchase the tape. The time required for duplicating an audio or video tape is vastly different from the time required for duplicating a paper document. Duplicating a paper document consists essentially of one minute in front of the copying machine. Duplicating an audio or video tape requires a staff member to monitor the audio or video recorder as it plays and later check the duplicate to make sure the recording is complete. The City Clerk's office has charged the existing fee for many years without any increase, in spite of the fact that costs for staff time have increased dramatically. Staff time required for duplicating an audio or video tape is one of the "direct costs of duplication" that the City is allowed to recover under the California Public Records Act. (Gov. Code § 6253, subd. (b).) In order to more effectively recover costs for staff time, the proposed resolution will increase these fees by $7.00, which will result in a fee of $17.00 if the tape is provided by the requester and $22.00 if the tape is provided by the City. The amount of $17.00 was calculated by averaging the hourly rates of the City Clerk's staff who routinely respond to requests for duplication of audio and video tapes and estimating one hour as the minimum amount of time spent by a staff member in duplicating a video or audio tape. NEW FEE Hourly Fee for Questys Services The City Clerk's office is responsible for the City's records management program. The City's program includes scanning and storing the City's public documents into the City's electronic database known as Questys. Staff members are continually scanning and storing archived documents as well as more current documents such as City Council agendas and minutes. The goal of the City Clerk's office is to eventually have all of the City's public records scanned and stored electronically, thus creating a "paperless" office. The City Clerk's office staff routinely receives requests from individuals to retrieve documents stored electronically in Questys. Frequently requesters can only provide a few A-3