Patrick Higgins v. Swansea, Town of - Advisory & Finance Committee (SPR 20170715)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords June 7, 2017 SPR17/715 Arthur D. Frank, Jr., Esq. Law Offices of Arthur D. Frank, Jr. 209 Bedford Street, Suite 402 Fall River, MA 02720 Dear Attorney Frank: I have received the petition of Patrick Higgins appealing the response of the Town of Swansea (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Higgins requested "a copy of the proposed 2018 budget detail sheets which were provided to the Advisory & Finance Committee for their use in their budget deliberations." Mr. Higgins also requested "a copy of the posted meeting notice and minutes of the 'Nominating Committee for the appointment of Advisory & Finance Committee members' that was used in Article 3 of the May 15, 2017 Annual Town Meeting." The Town provided a fee estimate of $84.34 for the provision of records in a response dated May 24, 2017. Fee estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d ). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. 'However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a 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

Arthur D. Frank, Jr., Esq. SPRl 7/715 Page 2 June 7, 2017 petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 CMR 32.06(4). To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Public Records Division attorneys are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, Public Records Division staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact the Public Records Division directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. The Town's May 2l11 fee estimate The Town's fee estimate of$84.34 is comprised of two hours of search time at $38.67 per hour, as well as several copies ofrecords at $.05 per page. The Town may charge more than $25 per hour only if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). This petition must be made within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 32.06(4 )(g). Further, in his appeal Mr. Higgins notes that he is seeking to obtain responsive records in electronic format. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A (the records access officer shall, to the extent feasible, provide the public record in the requestor's preferred format or, in the absence of a preferred format, in a searchable, machine readable format); 950 C.M.R 32.07(2)(f) (a records access officer shall not assess a copying fee for electronic copies or copies of public records transmitted via facsimile). I understand as Public Records Division staff member contacted you and you indicated the Town would provide Mr. Higgins a supplemental response. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with the proviso that the Town provide Mr. Higgins with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Patrick Higgins