Original reporting Civic life · Gretna
What “actual cost” means under Virginia FOIA
The statute permits reasonable search, access, duplication and supply costs—not general overhead or surplus fees.
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- The actual-cost question now has figures to examine. The September 23 table for preparing the original estimate prints $205.82, although its displayed dollar entries total $205.85. Another row multiplies the clerk’s hours incorrectly. The September 24 inspection demand changes again to $588.33.
- Those discrepancies warrant a corrected worksheet and the underlying task, time and rate records. They do not establish that all staff time is unlawful. Virginia permits reasonable actual access/search costs for inspection and requires lowest-possible-cost efforts; a waiver is a request, not an automatic entitlement.
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September 26 update: what changed
The actual-cost question now has figures to examine. The September 23 table for preparing the original estimate prints $205.82, although its displayed dollar entries total $205.85.
Another row multiplies the clerk’s hours incorrectly. The September 24 inspection demand changes again to $588.33.
Those discrepancies warrant a corrected worksheet and the underlying task, time and rate records. They do not establish that all staff time is unlawful.
Virginia permits reasonable actual access/search costs for inspection and requires lowest-possible-cost efforts; a waiver is a request, not an automatic entitlement.
September 20 snapshot: The public record at this stage
Virginia Code § 2.2-3704 says charges may not exceed actual cost and requires reasonable efforts to supply records at the lowest possible cost. Before searching, a public body must notify the requester about possible charges and ask whether an advance estimate is wanted.
This is the public introduction to part 10 of The Gretna Water Files. The complete analysis, document checklist and next-record questions are included in the paid series; essential safety notices and official contact links remain outside the paywall.
Sources & verification
Current Virginia public-record access, response, electronic-record and actual-cost provisions; checked September 20, 2026.
Read the sourceQuestions sent to Town management about the FOIA process, delivery practice, estimate, sampling and grant history. A response was requested by September 22.
Read the sourceOriginal Town documents with private details redacted; 14 email transcripts with duplicate quotations omitted. Read each author’s claims as attributed statements.
Read the sourceThis article was written with AI assistance from the linked sources. No firsthand interview or visit is implied. Source dates and limits are identified in the reporting. Advertising does not determine editorial coverage. Request a correction or read our standards.
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