The check’s in the mail, Lexington County Sheriff Koon. Now can we see some change in return?

Public records are supposed to be just that.

They are supposed to be records kept by agencies and departments to fully document how they are carrying out the public’s business.

They are supposed to be records that are made reasonably available to taxpaying citizens — and, yes, to the media organizations that serve the public by making sure that its business is done in the open.

Now is it fine to charge citizens and media organizations reasonable fees to get copies of public records? Sure.

But if you’re a public agency, you shouldn’t be charging document fees that are so high that they effectively serve as weapons that discourage people and media organizations from seeing what they should be able to see. And if you’re a public official, you shouldn’t need an epiphany to realize all this.

So why does it seem like Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon needs to have one?

And why will that epiphany only come after Sheriff Koon’s department cashes the $350 check that’s been sent by The State to pay what his department is charging to provide access to the personnel files of two deputies who were involved in a controversial death investigation?

That’s right.

3 … 5 … 0.

Three … hundred … fiddy.

Yes, $350 — the amount that the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department says it invested in labor costs to fulfill The State’s Freedom of Information Act request to get access to the two deputies’ personnel files.

I know.

Some of you are thinking: “Big deal.”

I know.

Some of you are thinking: “Yeah, $350 does sound steep. But if y’all want some records that badly, you should just pay the price and shut up.”

Well, the “it’s no big deal — just shut up and pay” argument falls apart when you consider these factors:

▪ Under South Carolina law public agencies can waive the fees for public records if they believe the information in those documents is in the public’s interest.

Don’t you think that providing more transparency regarding the investigation of a child’s death in a major South Carolina county qualifies as being “in the public’s interest”?

▪ Nearly one-third of the money in Lexington County’s most recent budget — more than $46 million — is devoted to law enforcement.

Given those resources, don’t you think the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department should be able to produce personnel files on two deputies without charging hundreds of dollars for the right to see them?

▪ If a public agency can charge a media organization $350 for a few documents, what’s keeping it from charging you two or three times as much when you are seeking public records about something affecting your community? Your neighborhood? Your street?

The answer, of course, is “nothing.”

And would you really be cool with scrawling out a four-figure check for some public records that are supposed to be, well, public?

Really?

Come on!

So here’s the reality: the only way we can prevent eyebrow-raising fees for public records from becoming scream-inducing fees for public records is to scream about those fees when they start to raise eyebrows.

And that’s why I’m screaming about this.

Look, I acknowledge that law enforcement leaders like Sheriff Koon and law enforcement agencies like the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department face countless tough challenges every day — if not every minute.

Even more, I empathize with that.

My older brother is a retired police officer who served for 25 years in an urban Ohio city with no shortage of scary violence; in fact, he was the first African American to hold the rank of lieutenant in that city’s police department.

So let me stop anyone who wants to wag a finger and admonish me to show “respect for law enforcement” — or to show “respect for law and order.”

I always have shown it.

I always do show it.

Don’t need the lecture.

But — with all due respect — here’s hoping that Sheriff Koon has the epiphany he apparently needs to have when it comes to charging whopping fees for public records that are called “public” for a reason.

The check is in the mail, sheriff.

Yeah, yeah, really — it is!

Now can we see some change in return?

Opinion Editor Roger Brown can be reached at (803) 771-8464 and rjbrown@thestate.com. Follow him on Twitter @RBrown_SCOpin.

This story was originally published January 21, 2020 at 9:44 AM.