To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Sheriff Tyler Brown
Prepared By:
prepared
Kevin Heaton, Captain, Sheriff’s Office
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presenter
Presenter: Kevin Heaton, Captain, Sheriff’s Office
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Subject:
title
1:15 PM *Increase to Record Request Fees Schedule
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Purpose and Request:
recommended action
The Sheriff’s Office is requesting authorization from the Board of County Commissioners to increase the fee schedule associated with records requests to be more in line with today’s hourly compensation.
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Background and Discussion: The Sheriff’s Office fulfills records requests to citizens, media, courts, attorneys, etc. In 2023, the records section satisfied 15,394 records requests. Our current fee schedule has not been updated in over 10 years. The current fee schedule does not cover staffing costs for research, nor reimbursement for electronic storage devices. The Sheriff’s Office is subsequently proposing an increase to the current fee schedule.
State statues authorizes criminal justice agencies to assess reasonable fees, not to exceed actual costs, including but not limited to personnel and equipment, for the search, retrieval, and redacting of criminal justice records requested. The proposed hourly rate is based upon the midrange salaries of staff fulfilling these requests. Other agencies within Arapahoe County are charging similar fees when combining the cost of reports and research fees.
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Fee for research, retrieval of reports and audio/video/photo(s), redaction and preparation of records for release |
$9.00 (first 15-minutes) $36.00 Per Hour |
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Cost of printing report |
$0.25 per page (after first 10 pages) |
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Cost of electronic copy USB drive |
$5.00 to $20.00 depending on size |
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Cost of mailing USB drive |
$2.00 |
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Criminal History / Background Check Letter |
$10.00 (1 - 2 copies) $5.00 additional copy |
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Mug Photo |
$2.00 + Fee for research |
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NOTARY FEE |
$10.00 FREE for ACSO documents |
Fiscal Impact: Fees collected by the Sheriff’s Office go to the general fund.
Alternatives: By not changing the fee schedule, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to lose money when fulfilling outside records requests.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation The Sheriff’s Office Support Services Bureau recommends changing the records fee schedule.
Concurrence: The Sheriff’s Office Administration, Support Services Bureau, Finance Section and County Attorney’s Office support this proposal.