Two regional districts in Thompson-Okanagan charging extra fee for public information

Most governments in the Thompson-Okanagan don't charge to get public information, but that didn't dissuade the Thompson Nicola and Central Okanagan regional districts.

Thompson Nicola staff rationalized the decision by claiming the fee recuperates some administrative costs, according to chief administrative officer Scott Hildebrand.

Both regional districts charge a $10 application fee for freedom of information requests, recently allowed by the province through Privacy Act legislation. That's in addition to processing fees that could be charged for the work of actually finding documents that are requested.

Hildebrand said the Thompson Nicola added the fee in November 2021 without an announcement and without a vote from the board because it's legislated through the province.

The regional district came under heavy scrutiny last year after a series of stories published by Kamloops This Week showed lavish spending for years in the Thompson Nicola Regional District. Much of it was directed by its former top employee, Sukh Gill.

READ MORE: 'Inappropriate culture of spending' found in TNRD audit

After a months-long forensic audit uncovered a "culture of inappropriate spending," the regional district began approving dozens of new policies to make it more accountable and transparent.

"In the last two years, the (Thompson Nicola Regional District) has never been more transparent and accountable," Hildebrand said. "To me, this is a bit of a one-off. I don't agree there is a story behind this."

Thompson Nicola director Mel Rothenburger tried to overturn the staff decision and get rid of the $10 application fee at a July 14 board meeting. 

"In the interests of our commitment to transparency and ease of access to information, we should not be applying that fee," he said. "The information about our decisions belong to the taxpayer, it doesn't belong to us. Our job is not to discourage people obtaining information, event if it's only $10. It doesn't matter how much it is, it's the principle of the free flow of information and transparency."

Corporate officer Deanna Campbell explained the time costs associated with freedom of information requests, adding that some are very broad and complex, so staff spend time to narrow down requests. Some information requested through a freedom of information application is sometimes publicly available already.

Directors Steven Rice, Jan Polderman, Linda Brown, and Robin Smith all voiced support for charging the fee in order to weed out "frivolous" and "nuisance" requests.

Hildebrand told iNFOnews.ca that the fee isn't meant to "create a barrier" to access publicly held information. "Some requests we get are ridiculous," he later added.

"This isn't about frivolous FOIs, this isn't about a lot of FOIs, it isn't about anything other than transparency. What resonated with me is we're talking about $10 which everyone acknowledged is not a lot of money," director Dale Bass said. "This… is about the people, and we've been forgetting about them for a long time."

Only five voted to stop charging the $10 fee, so the regional district will continue. 

Other cities and regional districts in the Thompson-Okanagan have no such application fee.

Cities of Kelowna and Penticton decided not to, claiming it would be a barrier to citizens who want to get publicly held documents through freedom of information requests.

"We looked at the cost to administer such a fee, the impact on applicants, and the general position that fees should not be a barrier to making an FOI request and decided not to introduce it," Kelowna city clerk Stephen Fleming said in an emailed response.

Shane Mills with the City of Penticton replied with similar reasoning.

READ MORE: A year on, still no answers for 5 families in deadly Kelowna crane collapse

"This decision was based on concerns that a fee may serve as a barrier for citizens to request City held information," he said in an email.

Others that do not charge the fee did not offer the same reasoning for opting against the fee, but Stephanie Nichols, in charge of the requests at the City of Kamloops, said the cost of processing the fees would have outweighed the benefit.

Christy Poirier, communications manager for the City of Vernon, did not answer questions from iNFOnews.ca about whether the City opted to charge the fees and why or why not. She did, however, provide links to the City website, which have no mention of the $10 application fee.

READ MORE: Court forces Kelowna lakeshore hotel to open gate blocking access to public boardwalk

Regional District of South Okanagan did not respond, and its website also has no mention of an application fee.

Neither the City of West Kelowna nor the North Okanagan Regional District charge the application fee.

All freedom of information requests could cost the applicant, depending on the scope of request. However, staff at local and regional governments will often consult with an applicant to narrow down a search and reduce costs.

There are no processing fees for the first three hours spent locating a record or the time spent removing information a government deems it will not release publicly, according to the B.C. government website.

If a public body does quote a fee for searching for the documents, they can be waived if there is a "valid reason to excuse payment." An applicant may claim they cannot afford the fee or it's in the public interest to be released.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Levi Landry or call 250-819-3723 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.