John D. Rousseau v. Randolph, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20180975)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords July 16, 2018 SPR18/97·s Chief William Pace Randolph Police Department 41 South Main Street Randolph, MA 02368 Dear Chief Pace: I have received the petition of John Rousseau appealing the response of the Randolph Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Rousseau requested a copy of the "Use of Force Policy for the Randolph Police Department." The Department responded on May 21, 2018 with a fee estimate for the production of records. Fee estimates If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(b) (a records access officer shall provide written, itemized, good faith estimate). Once fees are paid, a records access officer must provide the responsive records. 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, § lO(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for black and white copies for both single and double-sided copies of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 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, § 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 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, § lO(d)(iv). 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

Chief William Pace SPR18/975 Page 2 July 16, 2018 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, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Appeal The Department provided Mr. Rousseau with a "records production fee" of $17.00. The Department must provide a more detailed fee estimate in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(viii). It is not clear what documents will be produced to Mr. Rousseau and if the documents pertain to his public records request. The Department's fee estimate must provide clarity on how many pages will be produced, the reasons for redaction of documents, if any, and any other associated fees. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(i) (a maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for black and white copies for both single and double-sided copies of a public record). Order Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Rousseau with a revised fee estimate in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations 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. Sincerely, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: John Rousseau