Jourdan, Sherrill v. Ashland, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20140392)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 3, 2014 SPR14/392 Ms. Laura Blakesley Collector/Treasurer Town of Ashfield 412 Main Street P.O. Box 560 Ashfield, MA 01330 Dear Ms. Blakesley: I have received a petition from Sherrill Jourdan appealing the written, good faith estimate of the Town of Ashfield Office of the Collector/Treasurer to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Jourdan requested copies of invoices and vouchers with supporting documents for legal services fees from January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2014. By letter dated July 2, 2014, you provided Ms. Jourdan with a written, good faith estimate for the cost of providing her with all the requested records. You have estimated that there are approximately 188 pages in which copies would cost twenty cents ($.20) per page for a total of$37.60. Additionally, you estimated that it would take you forty (40) hours at $16.32 per hour to provide the records. Ms. Jourdan has appealed the number of hours assessed for the Town to search for and copy the records. A custodian of records may assess a reasonable fee for complying with a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($1 0.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Absent specific statutory authority to the contrary, the fees to be charged for complying with requests for public records are established by the Public Records Access Regulations (Regulations). See 950 C.M.R. 32.06 (fees for public records). The Regulations provide that in cases where search or segregation time is necessary a custodian of records may charge a pro-rated fee based on the hourly rate ofthe lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(c). The Regulations OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Laura Blakesley SPR14/392 Page Two October 3, 2014 define "search time" as the time needed to locate, pull from the file, copy and refile public records, and "segregation time" as the time used to redact data that is exempt from non-exempt material. 950 C.M.R. 32.03. The search and segregation fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a). In a discussion with an attorney on my staff you stated that your office does not have any support staff to assist with a public records request, and therefore you would conduct the search and copy the records. You indicated that the records are retained in paper form. To satisfy Ms. Jourdan's request you would need to search both in file cabinets and in corrugated boxes. You believe that there are approximately ninety-four (94) invoices, and that some of the invoices have three to five pages of supporting documents attached to them. Once the invoices are retrieved, you will un-staple the pages, copy the pages, re-staple the pages, and finally, you will re-file all the original invoices/vouchers where they are stored. While I understand that you do not have a staff to assist you, I find that forty hours to complete this task is excessive. I find that the hourly rate charged is reasonable and in compliance with the Regulations, however the number of hours assessed to complete the tasks is not and must be reduced. Accordingly, you are hereby ordered to revise the amount of hours in your written estimate, and provide Ms. Jourdan with the revised, written estimate within ten (10) days of this order. In the event a reconsideration appeal is opened by this office an acknowledgment will be provided to all parties, followed by a written determination by this office, to be provided within fifteen (15) business days. Requests for reconsideration filed more than thirty (30) days after the date of this letter will not be considered. cc: Ms. Sherrill Jourdan