Newspaper nails story about excessive data copy fees
Officials in Horry County, S.C., want to charge a newspaper $284 for data that probably shouldn't cost more than $25, if anything. The county wants to charge $130 in programming fees and then 10 cents per record for 1,541 records. That's outrageous.
It's not uncommon for agencies to charge high fees for records, particularly data, but what is neat about this situation is how the newspaper wrote about the issue. In a story Thursday in The Horry Independent, the reporters did the following things, which I bet will pry the records loose for a reasonable copy cost:
1. They asked other agencies what they would charge for copying the data, finding that most agencies would charge no more than $25 or $30 (for a few hours of programming time). This use of peer pressure makes the county look abnormal and deviant.
2. They are asking for a database that has a strong public interest (trying to get speeding ticket data to identify speed traps that readers have complained about). The public will support access to records that contain information of use to them.
3. They quoted access experts in the state, pointing out how the county is not following the law. Even better would be getting a government attorney, such as the attorney general, to comment.
4. They teamed up with a sister paper (Carolina Forest Chronicle) to request records and write about the county's lack of responsiveness to this request and others. Now more citizens know about the overcharging.
5. They point out how the law allows the county to waive the fees if the records are for a public purpose, and then quoted the county officials' lame rationale for denying the waiver.
Ultimately, all of this reporting provides a solid story that shows how the county is breaking the law and unjustly denying important information for the public. Citizens will talk. They'll write letters to the editor and call the county. The officials, if they are smart, will yield, follow the law, and do what's right.