In March of 2016, the Selma Times-Journal reported on the costs and stipulations associated with acquiring public information from the City of Selma.

Despite assurances that the matter would be addressed, nearly three years later nothing has changed.

The Request for Information form available in the City Clerk’s office puts the price of acquiring public information at $1.25 per page for up to 20 pages.

Every page beyond that is $.75.

According to Alabama Press Association (APA) General Counsel Dennis Bailey, copies of public information are not meant to generate a profit for the entity providing them.

“They’re supposed to cover their cost and, if you can go across the street from the city hall and get a copy at the library or the drug store for 25 cents, that’s pretty high,” Bailey said in a 2016 interview.

At the Selma-Dallas County Public Library, as well as Copy Type on Broad Street, copies are 10 cents per page.

To acquire the 3,000 pages of financial documents provided to the Selma City Council, the average citizen would have to pay more than $5,240.

The cost of a standard printer cartridge is $20 and a box of paper (five reams or 2,500 pages) is $25.

By that measure, the city could purchase 100 boxes of paper (250,000 pages) and 100 printer cartridges and still collect more than $700.

However, cost isn’t the only concern related to the request for information form – the requester must agree that “the information being requested will only be used for a legitimate purpose” and not “to create a scandal” or for “malicious purpose.”

“I’ve never heard of such language,” Bailey said in the 2016 article. “You might as well put in there, ‘you promise not to write anything bad about government.’”

“I think it might be noteworthy that we review the pricing and also the language [of the form],” Council President Corey Bowie said in 2016.

For his part, Bowie still plans to revisit the language in the form.

As far as the cost, Bowie said the charge of $1.25 is in line with other cities, but the $1.,75 charge needs to be revisited.

“It’s not all about making money,” bowie said. “I definitely think we will revisit that.” Further, Bowie think the language in the form needs to be addressed as well, despite the fact that it was added in response to issues that took place before his time on the council.

“It’s just a disclaimer you can’t really enforce if you purchased it with your own money,” Bowie said. “If you want to be effective, you have to go back and update policies and procedures.”

Bowie said that he is putting together an “ad hoc committee” to begin tackling the issue.

Councilwoman Miah Jackson stated that she would be in favor of a policy that would allow for citizens to bring a jump drive to City Hall and have documents uploaded digitally.

Doing so would come at no cost to the city or citizens.