Getting an open records request filled by the Beloit Police Department could soon become a lot more costly.

The Beloit City Council will consider charging a fee for the time it takes to redact records as part of their consent agenda Tuesday evening.

Chief Andre Sayles says he used to get less than 200 open records requests a year. There have already been 600 this year.

The fee would be the lowest hourly rate of the records clerks who need to complete the request.

2023 Wisconsin Act 253 permits law enforcement agencies to impose a fee on

2023 Wisconsin Act 253 permits an authority that is a law enforcement agency to impose a fee on the requester of public records for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of redacting recorded audio or video content, to the extent redaction is necessary to comply with applicable constitutional, statutory, or common law.