New North Myrtle Beach policy boosts fees for records access

The North Myrtle Beach, S.C. city council approved a new policy last week ramping up the charges for public records, in a bid to keep citizens from requesting information "just to have it," the Palmetto Scoop reports.

The Scoop reports that under the new policy, citizens will have to fork over between 25 cents and $1 per page for public documents — plus an extra $25 for a request that takes staff more than 15 minutes to fill. The city already has a public information director to fill requests, the Scoop says. The city manager reportedly told the Scoop the goal was to keep people from aimlessly requesting information and wanting to examine records without having a specific question.