City to mull records access

An ordinance to be presented to the Bloomington city council next week could provide better access to some of the city's public records via the Internet. The ordinance will be up for public comment Wednesday.\nAt Wednesday's council meeting, Michael Chui, the city's chief information officer, spoke about the new program, which would be a part of the city's Information and Technology Services Department.\nIf the ordinance is passed, Bloomington will have an established list of fees for providing electronic maps and better access to city databases within the next week.\n"It's important that there's a policy that charges for all the data, and not just some," said Jason Banach, R-II. "I know I've paid $13 for a map before, and now it will be uniform."\nThe ordinance will base the fees on labor, material and equipment costs associated with filling the specific request.\nThe provision does note that every time a cost element changes, the city council will have to convene to update the fees. The fees don't adjust to cost automatically. The maps will cost anywhere from $10 to $44, depending on the size and type of map. Aerial photos can cost anywhere from $21 to $270. The cost also depends on the photo's size and the year it was taken.\nCouncilwoman Patricia Cole,D-I, said she doesn't have any objections to the plan. \n"I was looking over the plan, and, to me, the fees seemed reasonable," she said.\nThe ordinance also addresses the Enhanced Access Fund, which was created with the money earned from electronic maps and city data purchases.\nThe city controller and the director of the Information and Technology Services Department will administer the money in the fund toward replacing, improving and expanding capital expenditures. It will also reimburse any operating expenses from enhanced access to the public.\nThe city council will appropriate the money in the fund. At the end of the year, any unspent money will be returned to the fund.\n"It's an important piece of legislation in this electronic age," said David Sabbagh, R-V.