John D. Rousseau v. Holden, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20161004)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor of Records November 18,2016 SPR16/1004 Chief David A. Armstrong Holden Police Department 1370 Main Street Holden, MA 01520 Dear Chief Armstrong: I have received the petition of John Rousseau appealing the response of the Town of Holden Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Rousseau requested four ( 4) categories of Crime/Incident/Log Reports, but is appealing the cost of two (2) categories: 1. On September 7, 2016 Mr. Rousseau requested copies of the "internal activity log" for the date of June 15, 2007. In a response dated September 26, 2016 the Department provided a fee estimate of$21.30 for the provision of records responsive to this request; and 2. On the same date Mr. Rousseau requested copies of the "Multi-Departmental Activity Log" for the years 2004-2006. In the same response issued by the Department, a fee estimate of $63.90 was provided for the provision of records responsive to this request. Mr. Rousseau appealed both fee estimates. It is Mr. Rousseau's position that the Department may only charge a maximum of$1.00 per page pursuant to G. L. c. 66, §1 0(a) and is not permitted to charge a fee for searching for, segregating or mailing public records pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.06. Fees for copies ofpublic records 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.R1. 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 Public Records Access Regulations (Regulations). See 950 C.M.R. 32.06 (fees for public records). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Holden Police Department SPR16/1004 Page 2 November 18, 2016 Under the Regulations, a custodian of records may assess a maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy 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 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, § 1O (a). A custodian may assess the actual cost of postage. 950 C.M.R 32.06(3). Municipal police departments may respond to certain requests for public records by providing fee estimates as indicated by statute: ... The following fees shall apply to any public record in the custody of the state police, the Massachusetts bay transportation authority police or any municipal police department or fire department: for preparing and mailing a motor vehicle accident report, five dollars for not more than six pages and fifty cents for each additional page; for preparing and mailing a fire insurance report, five dollars for not more than six pages plus fifty cents for each additional page; for preparing and mailing crime, incident or miscellaneous reports, one dollar per page; for furnishing any public record, in hand, to a person requesting such records, fifty cents per page. A page shall be defined as one side of an eight and one-half inch by eleven inch sheet of paper. G. L. c. 66, 10(a) Conclusion With regards to his request, Mr. Rousseau did not specifically request the reports enumerated in the statute; furthermore, responsive records are not able to be "furnished in hand" to him, therefore, G. L. c. 66, 1O (a) does not apply to fees associated with the provision of records responsive to this request. I find the Department's use of 950 C.M.R. 32.06 for assessing its September 26, 2016 fee estimate proper. wn . Williams Supervisor of Records

Holden Police Department SPR16/1004 Page 3 November 18, 2016 cc: John Rousseau