From The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction):  Journalists, researchers and curious citizens will be able to submit requests for access to Mesa County records online following Monday’s approval of an amended open records policy.

The county’s policy for handling Colorado Open Records Act requests previously only allowed people to deliver written requests in person, through the mail or via fax. The amended CORA policy, adopted 3-0 by Mesa County commissioners, adds the option of submitting records requests through a central email portal that will be available soon on the county’s website. The portal will deliver the request to the county department most likely to have the records and department staff will decide who will find and compile the requested information.

The policy also has been changed to allow the county to waive fees for the first hour of work staff spend assembling and responding to an open records request and then charge $30 for each additional hour of staff time spent on the request. The $30 charge is a $10-per-hour hike from the county’s previous asking price for records requests. The charge for copies of records will remain at 25 cents, although requesters can view records or get electronic copies for free.

Assistant Mesa County Attorney Angela Barnes said the price change was prompted by the state legislature’s adoption last year of House Bill 1193, which allowed government bodies to change their open records policies to charge no more than $30 per hour. Barnes said the cost to the county of fulfilling an open records request hasn’t changed but she believes $30 an hour is closer to the amount the county actually spends on requests. She also looked online to see what other counties close in size to Mesa County charged for CORA requests.

“Seventy-five percent of them had gone to $30,” Barnes said.

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