Although an agency may contract with private companies to provide information also obtainable through the agency, it may not abdicate its duty to produce such records for inspection and copying by requiring those seeking public records to do so only through its designee and then paying whatever fee that company may establish for its services. AGO 02-37. The agency is the custodian of its public records and, upon request, must produce such records for inspection and copy such records at the statutorily prescribed fee. Id. Accord AGO 13-03. And see AGO 05-34 (while the property appraiser may provide public records, excluding exempt or confidential information, to a private company, the property appraiser may receive only those fees that are authorized by statute and may not, in the absence of statutory authority, enter into an agreement with the private company where the property appraiser provides such records in exchange for either in-kind services or a share of the profits or proceeds from the sale of the information by the private company). Cf. s. 119.0701(2)(b)2., F.S., requiring that certain contracts contain a provision stipulating that upon request from the public agency’s custodian of public records, the contractor must provide the public agency with a copy of the requested records or allow the records to be inspected or copied within a reasonable time at a cost that does not exceed the cost provided in ch. 119 or as otherwise provided by law.
