Port Clements is moving to add a $40-an-hour processing fee for larger Freedom of Information requests after Village staff reported an increase in formal information requests.
At a Sept. 3 special meeting, council gave first three readings to an amendment to its fee bylaw that would allow the Village to charge $40 per hour when processing a general FOI request takes more than the first three hours.
The Village already charges a $10 application fee for general records requests. Requests for a person’s own personal information are free, while Indigenous governing entities are exempt from the application fee.
In a report to council, staff said the Village has seen an increase in formal Freedom of Information requests and that some have been large enough to require significant staff time beyond the initial three-hour threshold.
The report does not say how many requests Port Clements has received, who is making them or what information is being requested.
The proposed amendment would also rename the Village’s existing “Historical Information Research Fee” as an “Information Research Fee.”
Council gave the bylaw first, second and third readings Sept. 3.