FOIA Rates

When Freedom of Information Act requests are made to the City of Salem they are filled as quickly as possible and done so with adherence to Virginia FOIA Guidelines. The City of Salem does have a rate structure in place for the fulfillment, as it relates to staff work and materials, should the request occupy a significant amount of time or resources.

The following costs shall be charged at the rates indicated, not to exceed the actual cost:

Rates or Fees	Amount
Staff member search time, charged at an estimated rate of	$5.00 per quarter hour
Computer search time, requests for materials which exist electronically, or transmission of electronic files are charged at the rate of	$8.00 per quarter hour
Attorney's fees	If allowed by law
Large Format Printing charged at	Actual cost for large print plus staff time rate estimated at $5.00 per quarter hour
Electronic recordings charged at	Actual cost for electronic recordings plus staff time rate estimated at $5.00 per quarter hour
Computer printers, charged at the rate of	$0.10 per page
Photocopies (including those necessary to perform redactions) charged at the rate of	$0.10 per page
Incidental out-of-pocket costs necessary to assemble the records (for example: phone, postage, or courier charges).	Will be Itemized

If the requester has asked for an advance determination of the cost, or if the cost exceeds $200.00, the requester shall be notified in advance. The City Manager may, before continuing to process the request, require the requester to agree to payment of a deposit not to exceed the amount of the advance determination.