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                    "The city says a $310 fee charged to The Dispatch for public records was calculated correctly, arguing state law allows municipalities to recover more than just an employee\u2019s gross hourly wage when fulfilling records requests.\nThe Dispatch on July 10 requested records related to city appropriations to the Columbus Arts Council, as well as partnerships between the nonprofit and Columbus Parks and Recreation.\nThe Dispatch filed a complaint with the Mississippi Ethics Commission after being charged $310 for the records \u2013 a figure that included a 35% upcharge on top of the hourly wage of Greg Lewis, parks and recreation director, who took six hours to compile the records.\nChief Financial Officer Jim Brigham, who serves as city clerk, previously told The Dispatch that upcharge reflects the city\u2019s cost for providing Lewis\u2019 benefits, such as insurance, during the six hours he worked on the request. Had the city calculated the fee using only Lewis\u2019 salary, which equates to an hourly rate of about $38.33, the cost would have been $230.\nState law allows public bodies to recuperate from the requester the actual cost of producing public records. If employees are involved, those bodies can charge fees based on the \u201cpay scale\u201d of the lowest-level person competent to fill the request. Historically, public bodies have charged The Dispatch based on hourly wage or its salary equivalent.\nWhile The Dispatch did not necessarily dispute the city\u2019s calculation in its complaint, it asked the Ethics Commission to specifically clarify if public bodies can incorporate fringe benefits into the fees they charge for public records.\nIn a response to the complaint certified Aug. 12, City Attorney Jeff Turnage argues they can. Specifically, he writes that the use of \u201cactual cost\u201d in state statute is not limited to the employee\u2019s gross wages.\n\u201cHad the legislature intended to limit reimbursement to gross wages, it could have easily said so,\u201d Turnage wrote in the response. \u201cInstead, it retained \u2018actual cost\u2019 as the measure of reimbursement.\u201d\nTurnage argues that an employee\u2019s true cost to the city extends beyond hourly wages. Payroll taxes, retirement contributions and workers\u2019 compensation, he wrote, are among mandatory employment expenses the city incurs when an employee is on the clock regardless of the task they\u2019re doing.\nIf those costs aren\u2019t covered, Turnage argues they are shifted to taxpayers.\n\u201cA salaried employee ordinarily receives the same paycheck whether the employee spends six hours responding to the Dispatch or six hours performing other municipal duties,\u201d he wrote in the response. \u201cYet the Legislature expressly recognizes staff time as a recoverable component of actual cost. The statute necessarily permits a reasonable allocation of employment cost to that time. If the requester pays only the gross wage, the remaining cost does not disappear. Someone must pay it.\u201d\nWith the city\u2019s response now filed, a designated hearing officer will review the case and issue a preliminary ruling. If either side objects to the preliminary ruling, the case will move to a final review by the commission.\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\tMcRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.\n      \n    \n\n\t\t\t\n      \n      \n        Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community."
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