36 Miss. Code. R. 101-2.8
When a public records request is received for information not on the list of Standard Documents, the WCC staff will evaluate the request; research the project file and other sources to see what information is available and in what format the information is stored; and estimate the effort that will be required to reproduce the information. This research may require the retrieval of files that have been archived or the search of electronic records. The WCC staff will then prepare a schedule and estimated cost for the public records request, based upon the volume of the information, the format in which the information is stored, and whether or not Third Party Information has been requested. The requestor must provide a payment of $60 with the public records request to cover the first hour of staff time involved in researching the request, retrieving files, and preparing the estimate. This payment is non-refundable if the requestor decides not to proceed with the request after receiving the schedule and estimated cost.
Please note that the following types of public records requests tend to require additional research and staff time and can have significant cost associated with filling the request:
The less defined and/or more inclusive the scope of the public records request, the more documents and files have to be searched and evaluated by the WCC staff. For example, wording in requests asking for "all records, papers, documents, messages, correspondence, notes, etc. related to this or similar projects" is extremely open-ended and requires staff to interpret what time-frame, sources of information, and project files are reasonable to research and evaluate. The wider the "net," the greater the effort required, and, thus, the greater the cost to the requestor.
Sometimes the requestor will submit a public records request and then not respond with payment during the required time frame once the schedule and estimate are provided. If the requestor later decides to proceed with the request, the WCC staff must again locate the information and develop a new schedule and cost estimate. The requestor must submit a new request with the $60 initial payment.
Project files may be archived off-site after a reasonable time period. Requests for information on projects for which a contract has been signed for several months are typically more expensive to respond to than requests for information on projects that have been recently awarded. The WCC reserves the right to use temporary personnel and services, the cost of which will be passed on to the requestor, if sufficient in-house personnel are not available to respond to the request in a timely manner.
36 Miss. Code. R. 101-2.8