What Hawk Cove Has Charged, and For What
These are the rates and terms the City of Hawk Cove itself has used in its written cost estimates for public information. Nothing here is a general state figure; every number comes from a City estimate.
| Charge | Rate the City used | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| Personnel labor | $15.00 per hour | To “locate, retrieve, organize, review, redact as necessary, and prepare” paper records (Aug 14, 2026), and for “Personnel labor” with no breakdown (Oct 8, 2026). |
| Video processing | $28.50 per hour | “Review, electronic processing, programming/manipulation, necessary video/audio redactions, and export” of body-worn and in-car video (Aug 14, 2026). |
| Overhead | 20% of labor | Added on top of every labor line, in both estimates. |
| Copies | Not charged | Both estimates say records would be provided electronically. No per-page or media charge appears in either. |
The August 14 estimate gives hours and totals ($570.00 for 20.0 hours of video work; $450.00 for 30.0 hours of paper records); the hourly rates shown for it are the totals divided by the hours. The October 8 estimate prints $15.00/hour.
Actual City cost estimates (examples)
Two real estimates the City has sent, posted as examples with the requester’s private information and the City Secretary’s personal name redacted: August 14, 2026 estimate (PDF) · October 8, 2026 estimate (PDF)
| Estimate date | Records | Hours | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | 17 video files, about 5.2 hours of footage | 20.0 at $28.50 | $684.00 ($570.00 + $114.00 overhead) |
| Aug 14, 2026 | About 185 pages of police reports | 30.0 at $15.00 | $540.00 ($450.00 + $90.00 overhead) |
| Oct 8, 2026 | Not itemized | 250 at $15.00 | $4,500.00 ($3,750.00 + $750.00 overhead) |
The City’s terms
- Prepayment. “Because the estimated charges exceed the amount authorized by Section 552.263 of the Texas Government Code for a governmental body with fewer than sixteen (16) full-time employees, the City requires prepayment of the full estimated charges before processing the applicable portion of your request.” (Aug 14, 2026)
- Ten business days. “If the City does not receive your written response to this cost estimate within 10 business days, your request will be considered withdrawn by operation of law.” (Aug 14, 2026)
- Pay by the deadline. The City is not required to produce the records “unless payment of $4500.00 is received no later than October 18, 2026. If payment is not received by that deadline, the request will be considered withdrawn pursuant to Texas Government Code § 552.275(h).” (Oct 8, 2026)
- Inspection may cost too. “Because the applicable personnel-time limit has been exceeded, inspection may still require payment of the personnel costs necessary to locate, compile, review, and prepare the information.” (Oct 8, 2026)
- Refunds. “If the actual cost is less than the amount paid, the City will refund the difference as required by law.” (Oct 8, 2026)
- Narrowing. “You may contact the City to discuss whether modifying or narrowing the scope of your request would reduce the estimated charges.” (Oct 8, 2026)
If You Are on the Council: The Rules the Council Wrote for Itself
These are the rules Ordinance No. 2023-05-31.5 sets for the City’s own Council members, quoted exactly as printed. Each rule is cited to its section. Our copy is unsigned and its passage date is blank.
These rules apply to Council members. Residents request records under the Texas Public Information Act. Section 18 adds: “Subject to Ordinance 2020-005, nothing herein prevents or prohibits Council members, solely and only in their individual capacities as citizens, from requesting records under the Freedom of Information Act (‘FOIA’) or the Texas Public Information Act (‘PIA’).”
- Office hours only. “A Council member shall have access to City’s records and information only during the established hours of City’s offices and not at any other time or times (Texas Gov't Code 552.021).” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §9)
- Three ways to ask, and only three. “An individual Council member requesting access to City’s records and information in the Council member’s official capacity shall do so only by: 1) written, signed and dated letter personally presented by the Council member to City’s administrative staff, only during City’s established hours of business operations; 2) United States Postal Service (‘USPS’), certified mail, return receipt requested; or 3) e-mail to City’s e-mail account specifically dedicated by City for such Council members’ requests. A Council member requesting access to City’s information and records shall not make any such request by any other form of transmission.” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §10)
- Late e-mails cost the City overtime. “Any electronic email request for information or records from any Council member that is received outside of City’s established hours of operation by a City administrative staff member, shall result in that staff member receiving thirty (30) minutes overtime pay.” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §10)
- Council members must say why they want it. “Any Council member’s request for access to City’s information and records shall: be in writing; describe, specifically and in detail, the specific and particular item, items or category of items, to which the Council member requests access; the purpose for which the Council member requests access; and every use for which the requesting Council member will use each item, items, category or categories of items (Texas Gov’t Code Sec. 552.232).” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §11)
- Supervised, one at a time, one hour. “A Council member shall not have private or unsupervised access to any of City’s information and records. One Council member at a time may have supervised access to City’s information and records, for up to one hour at a time.” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §12)
- Sign first. “The requesting Council member shall be scheduled for a one-hour access appointment by City’s Administrator and City’s Secretary, only upon City receiving from the Council member original, ‘wet’ signature, signed confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, as shall be provided by City staff, together with any applicable costs, if costs are to be paid, associated with the Council member’s access ...” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §13)
- Council members hand over their phones. “... a requesting Council member shall surrender all recording devices of any kind or nature to supervising personnel for the duration of that Council member’s access to City’s information and records.” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §14)
- The City keeps a copy of their notes. “A Council member may take notes during the Council member’s access to City information or records, and the Council member shall surrender all such notes to City’s supervising personnel for photocopying at the conclusion of the Council member’s access. ... All such notes shall be presented to the Council at the next Regular, Special or Executive Council meeting (Texas Gov’t Code, Section 552.226).” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.5, §14)
Penalties
Ordinance 2023-05-31.5, Section 4, tells Council members they “shall be subject to all criminal and civil penalties for each unauthorized access to, and/or use, dissemination or disclosure of City’s information.” The jail terms it lists come from tax-confidentiality laws, cited as the ordinance cites them: “up to 1 year in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine (Texas Tax Code §171.361); up to 180 days in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000 (Texas Tax Code §22.27); or up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000 (26 U.S.C. §7213(a)).”
The ordinance’s own penalty is in Section 21: “Any Council or governing body member violating any provision of this Ordinance shall be prosecuted for such an offense, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine not to exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00).”
The ordinance lists no penalties for residents.