December 31, 1996; Douglas County
12/31/1996 10:15:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
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Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the person who requested this opinion is presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submission are on file at the offices of PIPA and, with the exception of any data classified as not public, are available for public access.On November 13, 1996, PIPA received a letter requesting this opinion from Gerald Fiecke. In that letter, Mr. Fiecke described his attempts to gain access to certain data maintained by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Fiecke enclosed copies of related correspondence. In response to Mr. Fiecke's request, PIPA, on behalf of the Commissioner, wrote to Mr. Bill Ingebrigtsen, Douglas County Sheriff. The purposes of this letter, dated November 18, 1996, were to inform Mr. Ingebrigtsen of Mr. Fiecke's request, to ask him or the County's attorney to provide information or support for its position, and to inform him of the date by which the Commissioner was required to issue this opinion. PIPA did not receive a response from Douglas County. A summary of the detailed facts of this matter follows. In a letter dated August 27, 1996, Mr. Fiecke asked Douglas County for . . . any and all information on Jerry Werner Badge #211. This information would be complaints indictments and any other related information against him. In response, the County wrote to Mr. Fiecke, in a letter dated August 30, 1996, to clarify the scope of his data request. In that letter to Mr. Fiecke the County stated: [b]e aware that there is a charge for copies of this information which would be fifty cents per page plus time. Mr. Fiecke wrote to Sheriff Ingebrigtsen on October 11, 1996, and stated: [a]s I did on 8-27-96 I'm asking for any and all information on Jerry Werner. There is no charge for this information and copy costs have to be justified. (Emphasis his.) According to Mr. Fiecke, he has not had any further response from the County. Issues:
In his request for an opinion, Mr. Fiecke asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
Discussion:
Mr. Fiecke requested access to any and all information on Mr. Werner, a County employee. Pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13, Mr. Fiecke is entitled to gain access to all public data on the employee.
Pursuant to Section 13.43, subdivision 1, personnel data are defined as data on individuals collected because the individual is or was an employee of . . . a state agency, statewide system or political subdivision. Section 13.43, subdivisions 2 and 4, provide that certain data about current and former public employees are public, and that all other personnel data are private. Presumably the County maintains some public data about Mr. Werner, to which Mr. Fiecke is entitled to gain access. Regarding Issue 2, it is not clear from the nature of Mr. Fiecke's request to the County whether he wanted copies of the data about Mr. Werner, or if he just wanted to inspect the data. Pursuant to Section 13.03, subdivision 3, Mr. Fiecke is entitled to inspect the data at no charge. Minnesota Statutes Section 13.03, subdivision 3, and Minnesota Rules Part 1205.0300, subpart 4, provide that government entities may recover some of the costs associated with providing copies of public government data. Pursuant to Section 13.03, subdivision 3, the County may charge . . . the actual costs of searching for and retrieving government data, including the cost of employee time, and for making, certifying, compiling, and electronically transmitting the copies of the data or the data, but may not charge for separating public from not public data. Minnesota Rules Part 1205.0300, subpart 4, provides that [t]he responsible authority may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies of public data. This Part also provides guidance on the kinds of costs that may be included in the copy charge, including materials, labor required to prepare the copies, and mailing costs. The Commissioner was not provided sufficient information to determine whether the County's charge of fifty cents per page plus time is allowable pursuant to Chapter 13. It is reasonable for Mr. Fiecke to request that the County provide documentation to justify its copying charge. Opinion:Based on the correspondence in this matter, my opinion on the issues raised by Mr. Fiecke is as follows:
Signed: Elaine S. Hansen
Dated: December 31, 1996 |
Copy costs
Justification of costs
