By now, everyone who reads this paper on a regular basis should be keenly aware of my appreciation for the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. It’s a powerful tool for journalists and citizens alike and an important safeguard to ensure government transparency.

I like to think I know a thing or two about FOIA — although it seems I’m always learning more. And if I get the idea that someone is trying to keep me from laying hands on public information, I won’t back down from that fight.

Because of space limitations, I’ll give you the abridged version of this story. On July 14, I filed a fairly broad request for information with Kim Stryker, assistant to Eureka Springs Mayor Butch Berry. I expected most of the information to be available in electronic form, but I was informed that it required a great deal of redaction, which would have to be done manually. Ultimately, Ms. Stryker informed me that there were 2,074 pages responsive to my request, at a cost of 10 cents per page.

When I balked at that amount and offered instead to pay two cents per page — the law allows the city to charge me only the amount of expenses actually incurred in responding to a request — Eureka Springs city attorney Forrest Jacobi entered the conversation.

Over the course of several emails, Jacobi first informed me that the “cost of FOIA copies has been established case law since 2009,” then argued that the city could bill me for employees’ time expended in responding to my requests.

After I filed another request for the city’s invoices for printing supplies and informed Ms. Stryker and Mr. Jacobi that if we couldn’t reach some agreement on the cost of copies, I’d simply come to City Hall to inspect the documents and take photos at my discretion, Mr. Jacobi responded: “The City has determined that the cost of copying the over 2000 pages is in excess of ten cents per page. Our tentative offer of ten cents a page for the paperwork which you have not accepted is hereby withdrawn. Do not bother to come to Eureka Springs. The City will bill you and it will not be whatever figures are in your latest FOIA request.”

Ms. Stryker responded to my request regarding the cost of printing supplies on Aug. 3, writing that the “total applicable costs incurred during the months of June and July 2022 for reproduction supplies and equipment (we did not include office supply items included on the Office Depot invoice like folders and pens) is $1,827.24.” That amount, by the way, included expenses for 10,000 sheets of paper as well as toner, a copier drum AND $1,442.76 for lease of a copier for the month of June.

Using the receipts supplied by Ms. Stryker, I looked up the toner and copier drum to see how many copies each should yield and then calculated the cost for each copy, along with the cost for paper.

As it turned out, my offer of two cents per page was low, but the actual expense incurred by the city was nowhere near 10 cents a page. My calculations indicated an actual cost of 4.89 cents per page — a total of $101.55, which I offered to pay in an email dated Aug. 3. I never received a response. Two days later, I emailed Ms. Stryker and Mr. Jacobi to say that I would be at City Hall on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 9, to inspect the records and take photos at my discretion. Again, I received no response.

Finally, when last Tuesday rolled around, our office lost its internet connection for a period of time, which caused a production delay. I emailed Ms. Stryker and Mr. Jacobi to let them know I’d be coming the following day instead.

I received a cheerful-sounding reply from Ms. Stryker shortly afterward: “Thank you for letting us know. See you tomorrow afternoon.”

So there I was last Wednesday afternoon, zipping my way through nearly 2,100 pages in a little over two hours. I was able to discard most of the pages with a second’s glance. Many of the pages were duplicative. It seems as if I saw 10 or 12 copies of some email correspondence. There was some redaction but those pages were a small minority — I believe most of the information could have been supplied electronically. In the end, I didn’t find much useful information. But that’s OK.

I don’t know why Mr. Jacobi seemed to give up the fight. Maybe he realized I wasn’t backing down. Maybe he realized the law was on my side. Maybe both. Maybe I won’t have as much difficulty the next time I file a request. Maybe.

By the way, I owe thanks to John Tull, the attorney for the Arkansas Press Association and the state’s foremost legal expert on FOIA, for his help in dealing with this whole episode. And also to Ellen Kreth and Shannon Hahn of the Madison County Record in Huntsville for their support and advice, as well.

In the end, this was a victory in principle. And as much as some folks would tell you otherwise, principle matters.

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Scott Loftis is managing editor for Carroll County Newspapers. His email address is SLoftis@cherryroad.com.