The Bainbridge Island City Council approved at its April 22 meeting a new resolution that will charge some members of the public to receive body-cam footage of police officers.

“All this policy simply is trying to equate the cost for video work—or body cams in this case—the same way we would respond to any requests for electronic or paper documents,” Councilmember Clarence Moriwaki said.

Moriwaki said the resolution includes several exemptions that waive fees for certain requesters. Individuals directly involved in an incident, their attorneys, and designated state commissions will not be charged, per the new city code.

Uninvolved parties, however, will be charged 90 cents per minute of footage requested.

In recent years, the city has received an increase in the number of requests for body-worn camera footage from uninvolved parties. Some videos have been monetized by posting online via social media, Shannon Hays, the city’s communications coordinator, wrote in an email.

The new resolution will affect any footage not yet released, Hays wrote.

Under state law, agencies are permitted to charge requesters certain fees to recover the costs of fulfilling public records requests.

“A reasonable charge may be imposed for providing copies of public records and for the use by any person of agency equipment … to copy public records, which charges shall not exceed the amount necessary to reimburse the agency … for its actual costs directly incident to such copying,” per state law.

“Public records requests take both people and time,” Moriwaki said. He added that hiring additional staff to process these requests could lead to increased costs tied to salaries and benefits, a move he said he does not take lightly.

“It’s a tough call, because I like to think of the government as a force for good and find ways to make it work for people,” he said.

Moriwaki also emphasized the council’s commitment to maintaining essential services, despite uncertainty at the national level.

“We do have that ability, and now, given the unpredictability of what’s happening at the national level, I think people should feel a little more confident, at least at the local level, that we are prepared to deal with unexpected shortfalls,” he said.