Menten Eliminates Electronic Public Information (CORA) Fees at RTD
Text shown on the article (left) by Jeff Roberts on Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition publication, May 2019:
On her Facebook page, Menten called RTD’s elimination of per-page fees for electronic records “a small win for you and me.” But she noted that a 100-page PDF was costing the public $25 – not an insignificant amount.
Nathaniel Minor, a Colorado Public Radio reporter who covers RTD, said he was asked to pay $24 for a 96-page report on the North Metro Rail Line but avoided the cost when Menten posted it on her website. He recently had to pay RTD $2.50 for a PDF of a PowerPoint presentation.
“Every little bit helps in making public document actually available to teh public.” Minor said of the policy change. “That’s what it’s all about. If they’re making it a little bit easier, we’ll take it.”
RTD for now isn’t reducing its $30 hourly rate (after the first free hour) for researching and compiling records in response to requests, even though Menten says an $18-per-hour rate would be more affordable for the average person. Other government entities in Colorado generally charge $30 – the maximum rate allowed under CORA – although some charge $230 or $25.
Those hourly fees can add up, as Minor sometimes points out in his stories. For instance, Colorado Public Radio paid $600 last year for contractor oversight records which showed that a crack in the undercarriage of a commuter rail car led to cars being removed from service so they could be fixed.