John Longley v. Boston, City of - Office of the Assessor (SPR 20180447)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 19,2018 SPR181447 Laura Caltenco, Esq. City of Boston - Office of the Assessor One City hall Square, Room 301 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Caltenco: I have received the petition of John Longley appealing the response of the City of Boston Office of the Assessor (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on March 21,2018, Mr. Longley requested two property records cards. Mr. Longley was assessed a fee of $5.00 for each "double-sided print out." Unsatisfied with the assessed fee, Mr. Longley petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR181447, was opened as result. Fee estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(d). The fees must Id. reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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) 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, 5 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, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 Id. 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 petition under G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iii); 950 CMR 32.06(4). One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (61 7) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Laura Caltenco, Esq. Page 2 April 19,201 8 Pursuant to the Public Records Law, the fee assessed for standard black and white paper copies or printouts of records shall not exceed 5 cents per page, for both single and double-sided black and white copies or printouts. G. L. c. 66, fj 10(d)(i). As such, it is unclear how the Office has complied with the Public Records Law. The Office must clarify this matter. I understand a Public Records Division staff attorney contacted your office about this appeal. Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Longley 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: John Longley