Amy Kates v. Cotuit, Town of - Fire District (SPR 20180133)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 13,201 8 SPR181133 Charles Eager Clerk Cotuit Fire District 64 High Street Cotuit, MA 0263 5 Dear Mr. Eager: I have received the petition of Amy Kates appealing the response of the Cotuit Fire District (District) to a request for public records. G. I,. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Kates requested "invoices received from any attorneys retained by the Board of Fire Cormnissioners, to include the reasons for the requests for representation, for the period of 7/1/16 through 6130117." The District provided a revised fee estimate of $44.00 for the production of the records. The requested records were the subject of three previous appeals. Supervisor of Records Determinations SPR17/1470; SPR1711566; SPR17117 15. Fee estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L, c. 66, 5 lO(d). The fees must Id. reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, 5 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, fj lO(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, Id. redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. 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, 5 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

Charles Eager Page 2 February 13,2018 petitionunder G. L. c. 66, 5 10(d)(iv). &g G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 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 at htt~:/lwww.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdPfu/b~li c 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 District's January 1 9th Supplemental Response In response to SPR1711715, the District provided Ms. ICates with a supplemental response to their revised fee estimate of $48.19. They explained "it would take two hours of time to search for, compile and reproduce all the invoices for attorneys representing the Board of Fire Commissioners from July 1,201 6 through June 30,20 17. The Assistant Treasurer hourly wage is $22.00. The would amount to $44.00. The Treasurer estimates that there would be approximately 100 invoices that would need to be copied at 5 cents a copy or $5.00. This would bring the total to $49.00." Ms. Kates appealed the response of the District because "Mr. Eager's recent response didn't include any new information," "[hlis response wasn't substantive, nor did it raise any new issues," "[tlhe District has again not complied with the order from your office." After reviewing the District's January 19'~re sponse, the response was insufficient to explain the basis of the two hours to "search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the records." Specifically, it is unclear what steps the District is taking to search for, compile and reproduce approximately 100 invoices. Further, the District has not indicated whether the hourly rate used is that of the lowest paid individual capable of performing these tasks. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(d)(iii). Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide a revised fee estimate within 10 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. Ms. Kates may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response with ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, 0 Rebecca S. Murray - Supervisor of Records cc: Amy Kates