The following story was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with Salt Lake City Weekly.

Salt Lake City receives thousands of records requests each year. They offer glimpses into city business that impacts residents’ daily lives—like the police reports that domestic violence victims can use to file a restraining order, the traffic collision information that a resident needs to file an insurance claim, not to mention the documents reporters use to pull back the curtain on affordable housing, public school spending, environmental contaminants and more.

But a kink in the city’s public records system makes accessing that information more difficult; its payment policy for records fees is stuck decades in the past.

Online payments are not an option. Instead, requesters must call the city and read their card information to a staff member who then manually processes it. Requesters can also pay in person with a check, cash or card.

“This is admittedly not the most convenient way to pay for records requests,” City Recorder Keith Reynolds said in an email.

That process wasn’t always in place. Reynolds said the city previously used an internally-created payment portal that allowed requesters under the Government Records Access Management Act (GRAMA) to make online payments. But when the city switched to its current records management software, that payment process was altered and the city has been working with finance staff on a solution.

“We hope to get a more convenient payment system in place soon,” he said, later adding, “we hoped to have an online payment portal for JustFOIA much sooner but have been delayed due to the desire to have a singular city payment portal that we’ll be able to utilize for GRAMA requests.”

David Cuillier, a freedom of information researcher at the University of Florida, said requesting public records, including paying for them, should be “as simple and easy as possible for the average person.”

“Any obstruction or speed bump is an affront to democracy,” he said. “Being able to pay something online quickly—I think most of us are used to that now. And so to not have that just really lowers the credibility of the great city of Salt Lake.”

Data from CivicPlus, a leading software platform for local governments, supports Cuillier’s conclusion.

The platform reported that 72% of residents use digital tools to interact with their local government.

“They increasingly expect interactions with the government to mirror the convenience of online shopping or mobile banking,” reads the CivicPlus website. “Public records programs should be treated as front-line communication channels, not just legal functions.”

Two Sides of the Story

Salt Lake City processed almost 5,400 records requests between April 2025 and May 2026, with the average fee being $20, according to data The Utah Investigative Journalism Project obtained through a public records request.

While that volume of requests represents the time and effort residents spent to better understand their government, it also represents the resources city employees expended to process them.

“Of course, there are two sides to this coin,” said Erin Coyle, an Arizona State University professor of media law and the First Amendment. “While it’s very important for people to be able to request access to this information, it does take time, resources and energy for people in government to be able to address and handle and fulfill these requests.”

In fact, a JustFOIA survey found that 81% of government agencies reported their time and resources to complete public records requests were increasing. Some 19% said that things were staying the same, but not a single respondent said their time and costs were decreasing.

Coyle said that government records officers are facing an increasingly difficult time, especially as AI tools reimagine how requests are made and processed.

“This is a time that I’m hearing is especially challenging for people working in government who are handling public records requests,” Coyle said. “It does sound as if requirements to handle payments, either in person or over the phone, would take time from them. That likely is not ideal.”

The records The UIJP reviewed showed that although the city collected nearly $106,000 in GRAMA fees during the same period, another $29,100 in unpaid fees is still outstanding. That represents a 22% loss in revenue.

Reynolds, however, said that number is likely inflated due to test invoices and some workflow issues that caused requests that were withdrawn to be counted.

“For the most part, records aren’t released until payment is issued and if the time estimate is above four hours, we usually ask for partial payment before starting the work,” Reynolds said. “An online payment portal would at the very least provide more accurate data about revenue and unpaid invoices, since payments would be made through the system and tracked automatically.”

‘The Easier the Better‘

Coyle said local governments handle records requests in a myriad of ways, and that quite a few cities are taking steps to allow requesters to submit online payments. Salt Lake City currently uses JustFOIA, a software system for public records management, but that may soon change.

Reynolds said the city is drafting a request for proposals for a new, citywide cashiering system, which will then go through the public process of selection and contracting before a new system is implemented. According to a February email from Deputy Treasurer Jared Jenkins that the UIJP obtained through a records request, the new system likely won’t be available before 2027.

JustFOIA, meanwhile, touts its ability to process payments on its website. Another email obtained through the records request shows the city has looked at those options.

University of Florida researcher David CuillierCourtesy Photo

A list of the benefits from online payments included on the JustFOIA website range from tracking employees’ time spent on specific requests to helping governments charge an appropriate hourly rate, immediate release of records once fees are paid and integration options for checks, PayPal, Venmo and other payment forms.

Cuillier said budget could be a factor as to why cities don’t offer automatic payments for records, but he countered that online payments build trust and credibility for cities. He added they should consider accepting payments in any method—whether that’s direct deposit, cash, check or even modern options like Venmo.

“The easier the better, and certainly shouldn’t make it hard on poor people or people who don’t have the same access to technology that everybody else might,” he said. He added that public records laws in the United States don’t stipulate how governments should accept payments.

“And there’s a reason for that—because they shouldn’t have to. It’s just common sense for governments to make it real simple to pay for things, and so this is kind of an oddity,” Cuillier said. “I don’t see this much at all, because it’s so strange, and it just seems like something that could be fixed pretty easily.”

The nitty gritty of municipalities’ payment processing systems likely won’t rise to the top of most residents’ minds. However, the end result of being able to access the records behind the fees is hugely important, Coyle said.

“Government holds a lot of information about how things are done, why things are done, what money is collected, how money is budgeted and how money is spent,” Coyle said. “Public records requests provide ways for people to ask for very valuable information that sheds light on government activities.”