Kendra Dumont v. Shirley, Town of - Board of Selectmen (SPR 20170760)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 9, 2017 SPR17/760 Nathan Boudreau Executive Assistant Shirley Board of Selectmen · 7 Keady Way Shirley, MA 01464 Dear Mr. Boudreau: I have received the petition of Kendra Dumont appealing the response of the Board of Selectmen, Town of Shirley (Board) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Dumont requested "the totality of expenses incurred by the Town of Shirley concerning the recall action" including "attorney fees and internal expenses (manpower, materials, mailing etc.)." Ms. Dumont also requested "expenses of Special Town Meeting up until 19 August 2016, expenses from 19 August 2016 and up until and including the signature certification hearing held on/about 22 October 2016, as well as expense[s] incurred by council and presented to the Town for the Superior Court hearing." In a response dated May 5, 2017, the Board provided a fee estimate for the provision of records. Having been charged a fee of $100-$200 for the requested records by the Board, Ms. Dumont petitioned this office. Fee estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. I d. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 1 0(d )(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 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 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

Nathan Boudreau SPR17/760 Page 2 June 9, 2017 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, § 10(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 petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 CMR 32.06(4). Analysis Here, it is unclear why four to six hours is necessary to complete the search, segregation, and preparation for the requested records. Also, you indicate that the Board has estimated that the administrative fee to be charged will be in the range of $100 - $200, however, the Board has not explained whose hourly rate is being used and why this rate is for the lowest paid employee capable ofperforming these tasks. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Further, as stated above, ifthe Board wants to charge to segregate or redact records, it needs to receive prior approval from the Supervisor of Records unless the Board can demonstrate the segregation or redaction is required by law. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with the proviso that the Board provides another response to Ms. Dumont 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: Kendra Dumont