At the public agencies Catherine surveyed, to my knowledge viewing public records wouldn’t cost anything, since the staff member handling the request is paid hourly or possibly salaried. They’re there working regardless: you’re just asking them to perform an additional task while they’re on the clock.

The only additional costs would come in when that person has to confer with someone outside of the agency, such as Mr. Greene at BakerHostetler. There’s no reasonable way for any person requesting records to go around that.

Not for an “informational reading.” As you say, the public has a right to view public information. As I recall, this was not a request for copies–which would indeed cost money–but a request simply to view what should be on hand and available to the public. It simply cannot fly that the public should be referred to Mr. Greene in LA when requesting no more than a look-see. And just so you are fully informed: We have requested copies from Mr. Greene, and he informed us that there would be a cost that WE would pay. Not the district. This is akin to having you pay the bank for the privilege of viewing your own statement.

Even though you have a right to view public information. Maybe the requester needs to think about how much money they are costing the district to get informational reading. Regardless who is pulling the information it costs money. It works both ways.