TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Dan Atchison, City Attorney
SUBJECT:
title
Amendments to the fee schedule for copies of the Salem Revised Code
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council adopt Resolution 2018-6, amending the fee schedule for copies of the Salem Revised Code?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt Resolution 2018-6 amending the fee schedule for copies of the Salem Revised Code.
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SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND:
Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.410 through 192.505, gives the public the right to inspect and copy certain records maintained by the City of Salem.
In 2015 the City entered into a contract with Municipal Code Corporation (MuniCode) to recodify and maintain the Salem Revised Code (SRC). The recodification was completed in December 2017 and the code went live via MuniCode on January 1, 2018; <https://library.municode.com/or/salem/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=SARECO>.
The City’s current fee schedule includes fees for subscriptions to the SRC as well as updates to the SRC. That service has been managed by the City Recorder.
Effective January 1, 2018, MuniCode assumed management of the subscriptions as part of their contract with the City. Persons interested in obtaining a complete two-volume set of the SRC, or in receiving updates to SRC sections as they are amended will need to obtain those copies directly from Municode. Therefore, the fees for these services in the City’s fee schedule need to be removed. Anyone may view the SRC and City Charter for free on the City’s website, which links to Municode, and may print section of the SRC free of charge.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The current fee schedule was adopted on April 11, 2016, and went into effect May 1, 2016. Under Section VI. Special Publications, three references to the SRC are listed: d. Salem Revised Code - new subscription; e. Salem Revised Code - updates; and f. Salem Revised Code - misc. pages.
Prior to January 1, 2018, the City Recorder managed the SRC subscriptions and mailed out the quarterly updates and the City’s finance division handled the annual billing to subscribers. The contract with MuniCode provides quarterly updates to the SRC both electronically and in paper form.
The City Recorder is no longer managing that function and the finance division is no longer billing the subscribers. Subscribers now deal directly with MuniCode if they choose to continue their paper copy subscriptions. Any new subscribers who want paper copies will also deal directly with MuniCode.
Municode’s fees are:
Complete bound set: $495,
Completed unbound set: $320,
Update service: $111.30.
The City previously did not offer a bound SRC set. The current fee for a complete unbound set is $100, and the fee for quarterly update service is $75 per year. However, these fees were last updated in 2011, and do not reflect the City’s actual cost, as the SRC has grown significantly due to a range of new code amendments, such as the UDC.
Ruth Ann Stellmacher
City Recorder
Attachments:
1. Resolution 2018-6
2. Exhibit 1 - Fee Schedule