Fee Estimate Quick Calculation Guide

Guidelines

Fee Estimate – Quick Calculation Guide

If a fee will be more than $100 a fee estimate is required.

1. Search Fee – Fee for time required to locate and identify responsive records

Fee: 15$ per half hour

IPC Guidelines:

    • 1 minute to scan 12 pages of records
    • 5 minutes to scan pages in one drawer
    • 3 minutes per e-mail account (including copy another folder.

Search time includes:

    • Staff time involved with searching for records;
    • Examining file indices, file plans or listings of records (paper or electronic);
    • Pulling paper files/specific paper records out of files; and
    • Reading through files to determine responsiveness.

Search time does not include:

    • Time spent copying the records;
    • Time spent going from office to office or off-site storage to look for records; and
    • Having someone review the results of the search.

2. Preparation Fee – Fee for time spent preparing the record for disclosure

Fee: $15 per half hour

IPC Guidelines:

    • 2 minutes per page to sever

* In instances where the IPC Guidelines do not accurately reflect the circumstances, the public body should test a representative sample of the records for time which can then be applied to the responsive records as a whole.

Preparation time includes:

    • Time spent physically severing exempt information from records.

Preparation time does not include:

    • Deciding whether or not to claim an exemption;
    • Identifying records requiring severing;
    • Packing records for shipment;
    • Identifying and preparing records requiring third party notice.
    • Transporting records to the mailroom or arranging for a courier;
    • Time spent by a computer compiling information;
    • Assembling information and proofing data;
    • Photocopying; and
    • Preparing an index of records.

Government institutions cannot charge for the first 2 hours of search time and/or preparation time.
Local authorities cannot charge for the first 1 hour of search time and/or preparation time.

3. Reproduction Fee – Fee for reproduction of records

Fee: $0.25 per copy/print out

IPC Guidelines:

    • actual cost of all other reproductions
    • for electronic reproductions: actual cost of storage device.

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