John Longley v. Boston, City of - Office of the Assessor (SPR 20180584)

THe Gommonm~ealtho f Massachusetts William Francis Galvin: Secretary of the Cornonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S Murray Supervzsor of Records May 8.201 8 SPRI 8/584 Laura Caltenco, Esq. Counsel, Office of the Assessor City of Boston One City Hall Square, Room 301 Boston, h4A 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 his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Longley requested a number of property record cards. Previous appeal Ths appeal was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPRl81447 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 19,201 8 ). I closed SPR181447 by ordering the Office to provide Mr. Longley with a supplemental response, in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten business days. Following the April 19" determination, the Office provided a response on April 24,201 8, citing the Boston ordinance that empowered the Office to charge $5.00 per printout. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Longley petitioned this office, and this appeal (SPR181584) was opened as a result. Fee estk'mates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. 6.L . c. 66, 5 1 0(d). The fees must a. reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. 6.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 20,008 people or less. G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d)(iii). %%ere appropriate, One Ashburton Place, Room 1719 , Boston. Massachusetts 021 08 (6 1 7) 727-2832. Fax: (61 7) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@,sec.state. rna.us *

Laura Caltenco, Esq. Page 2 May 8,2018 municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid emploj~eew ho has he 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 5 approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, lO(d)(i17). 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 10(d)(iiil; 950 CMR 32.06(4). The DepaPtmen f 'sA pril 24'" response Ln its response dated April 24, 2018, the Off~cea ffirmed that it has the authority to charge 5 $5.00 for each copy of a property record card, citing Boston Ord. 1997 c. 4; Ch. 1 5. Mr. Longley appealed this response, indicated his belief that "the public records law G.L.c . 66- 1O (d)(i) should be the authority in the matter." I understand a Public Records Division staff member contacted you regarding this appeal. and you provided a supplemental response. 8"' The Departmelz f 's May response In its response dated May 8,2018 , the Office cites Chapter 222 of the Acts of 1949, which states that the City of Boston has the authority to "fix the charges to be paid for any services rendered or work performed by the city or any department thereof." The Act further provides that "a fee or charge fixed by ordinance under this act shall be deemed to apply notwithstanding any general or special law heretofore passed fixing a different fee or charge or imposing any limitation on the amount thereof." The Public Records Law governs the assessment of fees for production of a public record only when said assessment is not otherwise expressly provided for. G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(d). Conclusion Accordingly, as the production of property record cards is provided for in Chapter 222 of 5 the Acts of 1949 and Boston Ord. 1997 c. 4, Ch. I 5, it is my finding that the Office has acted appropriately in assessing a fee of $5.00 per copy. I will now consider this appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S . hhurrap Supervisor of Records cc: John Longley