Punished for High Copy Costs

The copier in the Camden County Clerk’s Office is a cash cow no more. After charging citizens $1 per page to use the self-service copier in its office to duplicate public documents, the clerk’s office was ordered by the New Jersey courts to slash its rates to just 5 cents a copy—and refund nearly $1 million to taxpayers.

The ruling, as reported in the Philadelphia Inquirer, came about after a local contractor sued Camden and Burlington counties for price gouging. (Burlington was charging 50 cents.) The suit contended the counties had a captive audience, since taxpayers weren’t permitted to copy the documents elsewhere. Now the two counties must pay $1.6 million into a settlement fund and offer bargain rates for the next five years.

Nickel copies may seem unthinkable to the folks in the clerks’ offices, but a casual survey of IPG readers who oversee walk-up copiers shows it to be common, with many charging a penny less.