Richard Parker v. Mansfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20180347)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 23, 2018 SPR18/347 Marianne E. Staples Town Clerk of Mansfield 6 Park Row, 2nd Floor Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Ms. Staples: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Mansfield (Town) seeking to charge more than $25 an hour and an extension of time to furnish copies of requested records, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town is advised that as required by law, a custodian must furnish a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). Specifically, Mr. Parker requested "[a]ny emails, letters, [correspondence] or text messages" between an identified Town official and various other identified individuals. Please note this request is also the subject of an appeal filed with this office on March 9, 2018. See SPR18/318 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 23, 2018). Petitions for fees charged by a municipality The Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may approve a petition from a municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting or to charge in excess of $25 per hour, if the Supervisor determines that 1) the request is for a commercial purpose or 2) the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). In rendering such a decision, the Supervisor is required to consider the following: a) the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records; b) the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees; and c) any other relevant extenuating circumstances. G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). Analysis The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve a municipality's petition to allow the municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records or to charge in excess of $25 an hour for the provision of public records. The 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

Town of Mansfield SPR18/347 Page 2 March 23, 2018 first prong is whether the request for records was made for a commercial purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). It is my determination that this request was not made for a commercial purpose. The second prong of the test is whether the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. The Supervisor must consider 1) if the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction or segregation; 2) the amount of the fee is reasonable; and 3) the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c) If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition ih In its March fee estimate, the Town asks Mr. Parker to clarify various aspects of his request. It is my understanding a Public Records Division staff member contacted you about this

Town of Mansfield SPR18/347 Page 3 March 23, 2018 matter and you indicated the Town has not received a response from Mr. Parker addressing its request for clarity. Whereas aspects of Mr. Parker's request remain uncertain, the work required of the Town to fulfill his request for records is consequently unclear. Accordingly, at this time I decline to approve a fee increase or an extension of time. Mr. Parker and the Town are encouraged to continue communication to clarify the records sought. The Town is advised that under the Public Records Law, a municipal records access officer must provide a written response to the requester within ten business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ). In this response the records access officer may identify a reasonable timeframe in which it shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vi). Please note the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond these timeframes. See id. Accordingly, once Mr. Parker's request has been clarified the Town must file another petition for an extension of time if it cannot provide responsive records within 25 business days of the receipt of the clarified request unless Mr. Parker voluntarily agrees to an extension of time. In that instance, a petition to the Supervisor of Records is not required. Mr. Parker may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Richard Parker