Sec. 33.04.01.10. Fees

A. In General.

(1) Except as provided in §A(2) of this regulation, the fee schedule for all board offices is as provided in this regulation.

(2) If the fee for a copy, printout, photograph, or certification of any record is specified by law, the specified fee governs over the fees in this regulation.

B. Search and Preparation Time.

(1) Except as provided in §B(2) of this regulation, the official custodian may charge a reasonable fee for time spent:

(a) Searching for requested records; and

(b) Preparing records for inspection and copying.

(2) The official custodian may not charge a fee for the first 2 hours needed to search for a record and prepare it for inspection.

C. Photocopying.

(1) If the applicant does the copying on an office machine, the charge is not more than 25 cents a page.

(2) If an office employee does the copying on an office machine, the charge is 25 cents a page, plus $8 an hour for any copying that requires more than 10 minutes of the employee's time.

D. Other Reproductions.

(1) When records are not susceptible to photocopying (for example, punch cards, magnetic tapes, blueprints, and microfilm), the charge for reproducing the record will be at actual cost, determined on a case-by-case basis.

(2) If the applicant receives a copy of records on a diskette, the charge is $2 per diskette.

(3) If the custodian is unable to copy a record within the office, the custodian shall make arrangements for the prompt reproduction of the record at other public or private facilities. The charge for reproducing the record will be at actual cost, determined on a case-by-case basis.

E. Certification of Copies. For certifying a record as being a true copy of the original, the fee is $1 for each certification.

F. Cost Estimates. Before reproducing a record, the custodian shall estimate the cost of reproducing it and obtain the applicant's agreement to pay this cost. The custodian may require the applicant to prepay the estimated cost by certified check or cash.

G. Waiver or Reduction. On an applicant's request, the custodian may waive or reduce any fee imposed under this chapter if, after considering the applicant's ability to pay and other relevant factors, the custodian determines that the waiver or reduction is in the public interest.

H. Returned Checks. The fee for a check returned by a bank for any reason is the cost of the fee charged by the bank to the local board.