The City is committed to providing full access to public records in accordance with the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.56) and any other applicable provisions of federal or state law. These procedures are to provide for the fullest assistance to the public and the timeliest possible action on requests.
The City’s Online Public Records Request Portal streamlines the public records process. In the portal, you can create an account, submit a request, and view your disclosable records online. You can submit requests for the City, the Lacey Police Department, and Joint Animal Services using the portal.
Requests for Body Worn Camera (BWC) recordings can be made online using the City’s online Public Records Request Portal.
Rates and Fees for Body Worn Videos (BWV)
At its September 16, 2025, meeting, the Lacey City Council adopted Resolution 1172, establishing a fee of $0.90 per minute for the actual staff time required to redact body-worn video footage.
Fee Details
RCW 42.56.240(14)(f) allows agencies to charge a reasonable fee for the time it takes to edit or blur parts of body-worn camera videos before releasing them. This includes redacting, altering, pixelating, or otherwise obscuring parts of the video in accordance with State law.
Exceptions to the Fee
The following requesters are exempt from body worn camera recording redaction fees per RCW 42.56.240(14)(e):
• A person directly involved in the incident recorded by the requested body worn camera recording.
• An attorney representing a person directly involved in an incident recorded by the requested body worn camera recording.
• A person or their attorney who requests a body worn camera recording relevant to a criminal case involving that person.
• The executive director from the Washington State Commission on African‐American Affairs, Asian Pacific American Affairs or Hispanic Affairs.
• If relevant to a cause of action, an attorney who represents a person regarding a potential or existing civil cause of action involving the denial of civil rights under the
federal or state constitution, or a violation of a United State department of justice settlement.
Fee Amount
Several jurisdictions—including the City of Seattle—have conducted fee studies and established reasonable charges for Body-Worn Video (BWV) redaction services. Following this precedent, the City of Lacey conducted its own review and determined a rate of $0.90 per minute. This fee reflects the combined cost of staff time (including salary and benefits) and the annual expenses associated with the redaction software.
Redaction Process
The following outlines the Lacey Police Department’s workflow for redacting body-worn video recordings. The City uses AXON technologies to streamline BWV, however, even with this assistance, BWV requires extensive human resources to ensure compliance with state law.
Cost Estimates Provided
An estimated cost for video redaction will be provided to the requester, calculated using an average processing time of two minutes per one minute of footage, at a rate of $0.90 per minute. For estimates exceeding $54, a 10% deposit is required before review/redaction work begins.
Acceptable Payment Types
Cash, check, debit or credit card (Visa or Mastercard only) are accepted in-person at Lacey Police Department. Payments by mail must be in the form of check, made payable to the City of Lacey.
The City determined by Order Covering Charges for Public Records Requests, signed by the City Manager on January 16, 2018, that it would be unduly burdensome for City staff to calculate actual costs for each and every record request to which records are responsive, given the large volume of requests received by the City and limited staff available to fulfill such requests. Therefore, the City has adopted the default charges set forth in RCW 42.56.120.
| Record Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Inspection of records | No charge |
| Photocopy of paper records, or printed (paper) copies of electronic records, or use of City’s equipment to photocopy public records: | $0.15 per page |
| Records scanned into an electronic format, or use of City’s equipment to scan the records | $0.10 per page |
| Files and attachments uploaded to email, cloud-based data storage services, or other means of electronic delivery | $0.05 for per four electronic files or attachments |
| Files and attachments transmitted in an electronic format, or the use of City’s equipment to send the records electronically | $0.10 per gigabyte |
| Digital storage media or device provided by the City | Actual cost |
| Container or envelope used to mail the copies | Actual cost |
| Postage or delivery charges | Actual cost |
| Body Worn Video Redaction | $0.90 per minute for actual staff time required to redact the footage |
Large requests exceeding $25 requires a deposit up to 10% of estimated costs before proceeding with fulfilling request.
The charges above may be combined to the extent more than one type of charge applies to copies responsive to a particular request.
If the City makes a request available on a partial or installment basis, the City may charge for each part of the request as it is provided. If an installment of a records request is not claimed or reviewed, the agency is not obligated to fulfill the balance of the request.
The City may also include a customized service charge if the request requires the use of information technology expertise to prepare data compilations, or provide customized electronic access services when such compilations and customized access services are not used by the City for other purposes.
Payments are required in advance, and can be made by cash, money order, or check made payable to the City of Lacey.
In compliance with RCW 42.56.520, the City will respond to a public records request within five business days of receipt by one of the following options.
A reasonable estimate of time necessary to respond is based on the need to:
In compliance with RCW 42.56, a public records response must be made within five business days. According to general statute, RCW 1.12.040, the day the request is received does not count as one of the five business days.
The City Clerk is the designated Records Officer for the City. This office is responsible for ensuring the City is in compliance with the Public Records Act. The City provides access to public records under the provisions of the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.56).
A “public record” includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government, used, prepared, owned, or retained by any state or local agency.
“Writing” means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photographing, and every other means of recording any form of communication or representation including, but not limited to, letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, motion picture, film and video recordings, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, diskettes, sound recordings, and other documents including existing data compilations from which information may be obtained or translated. (RCW 42.56.010)
All records maintained by the City are available for public inspection unless specifically exempted by law. Specific information describing the record requested will help expedite the process.
In general, public records that are exempt from public disclosure are those in the categories listed in RCW 42.56.
Reference must be made to this statute to determine on a case-by-case basis whether a particular record is exempt. When a city denies a request for disclosure of a public record, it must identify the specific statutory exemption upon which the denial is based and provide a brief explanation of how that exemption applies. In addition, certain statutes outside of the public records law also prohibit disclosure of particular records. For more information, visit Municipal Research and Services Center
There is no Washington case that has determined whether a duty to create an otherwise nonexistent document exists under RCW 42.56, there is a federal law on this issue. Under the Freedom of Information Act, an agency is not required to create a record which is otherwise non-existent.
email: cityclerk@cityoflacey.org
phone: 360-491-3214
Hours
Monday - Friday: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
