The Helena City Commission voted 5-0 on September 29th to set a public hearing for October 5th, 2026, where residents can weigh in on a proposed overhaul of the fees the city charges for public information requests.
City Attorney Doctor told the commission that the resolution currently governing those fees — Resolution 20244, adopted in 2016 — is out of compliance with updated state law. The proposed changes would bring Helena's fee structure in line with current Montana statute, though specific new fee amounts were not detailed in materials reviewed for this report.
The vote to set the hearing was procedural and unanimous, passing as part of a broader agenda without commissioner objection or public comment at the September 29th meeting. The October 5th hearing will be the formal opportunity for Helena residents and organizations that regularly file public records requests to speak before any new schedule takes effect.
Public records fees affect a broad range of people — journalists, attorneys, neighborhood associations, and ordinary residents who request city documents. A fee structure that hasn't been revisited since 2016 may not reflect the current costs of staff time or document reproduction, or the digital formats most records now take.