Butler, Arthur v. Upton, Town of - Board of Selectmen (SPR 20140752)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor ofR ecords February 23, 2015 SPR14/752 Ms. Sandra J. Hakala Town of Upton Board of Selectmen's Office 1 Main Street, Suite One Upton, MA 01568 Dear Ms. Hakala: I have received the petition of Arthur A. Butler, representing the Foundation of Fair Contracting of Massachusetts, appealing the response of the Town of Upton (Town) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Butler requested copies of certified payroll records for a specifically identified corporation. The Town responded by providing a fee estimate $120.00 for the provision of the responsive records and Mr. Butler appealed. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (1 0) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. A custodian of records may assess a reasonable fee for complying with a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (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 ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Absent specific statutory authority to the contrary, the fees to be charged for complying with requests for public records are established by the Regulations. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06 (fees for public records). Under the Regulations, a custodian of records may assess a maximum fee of twenty cents ($.20) per page for a photocopy of a public record and fifty cents ($.50) per page for a computer print out of a public record. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(a). In addition to the copying fee, 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 of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(c). The Regulations define "search time" as the time needed to locate, pull from the OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre

Ms. Sandra J. Hakala SPR14/752 Page Two February 23,2015 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). The Town's response does not contain the specificity required for a fee estimate. Accordingly the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Mr. Butler with the requested records. If the Town intends to charge Mr. Butler for the cost of complying with his public records request, he must be provided with a detailed written, good faith fee estimate consistent with the Regulations and this order. Once the Town receives the estimate funds, the records must be provided to Mr. Butler. Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Arthur A. Butler