Richard Karp v. Canton, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20190401)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 27, 2019 SPR19/401 Tracy K. Kenney Town Clerk and Records Access Officer Memorial Hall 801 Washington Street Canton, MA 02021 Dear Ms. Kenney: I have received the petition of Richard Karp appealing the response of the Town of Canton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, on November 28, 2018, Mr. Karp requested: "List or Map of all [p]ublicly owned [l]and within the [Town]." In a December 14, 2018 response, the Town provided a $32.74 estimate for "the list or map," and also records responsive to Mr. Karp's request for "list of budget spent on legal fees, settlements, arbitration hearings, mediation or court costs between 2016 and the current date." Mr. Karp petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) regarding the Town's hourly rate of $25. I note that Mr. Karp did not provide this office with a copy of his request for "list of budget spent on legal fees, settlements, arbitration hearings, mediation or court costs between 2016 and the current date." It is my understanding that you had a conversation with a Public Records Division staff attorney, and confirmed that the Town also received a request from Mr. Karp for a "list of budget spent on legal fees, settlements, arbitration hearings, mediation or court costs between 2016 and the current date." Therefore, the Town combined the requests for the map records and legal fee records into the December 14th fee estimate. I note that Mr. Karp was contacted by this office to obtain a copy of the requests he mentioned in his petition to better understand what he is specifically appealing in order to facilitate a determination. Mr. Karp did not reply to the email by an attorney assigned to this appeal. Therefore, a determination of this appeal will focus on Mr. Karp's objection to an hourly rate of $25 per hour, and this office's review of the fee estimate provided. 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

Tracy K. Kenney SPR19/401 Page2 February 27, 2019 Fees If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian 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, § 10(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 a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 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, § 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, § 10(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, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § (d)(iii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town's fee estimate On December 14th, the Town provided a response to Mr. Karp that included a fee estimate for the cost of $32. 74 to search, segregate and provide computer printed records, along with postage. The Town estimated 2 hours of search time, and 1.25 hours of segregation time, explaining that the Town is crediting the first two hours of search time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iii). The Town's estimate assessed 1.25 hours of segregation time; however, the Town has not explained with specificity whether the segregation is required by law or was approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition. See G. L. c. 66, § 10( d)(iii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Conclusion I find that the Town must revise its fee estimate, or provide a further explanation of how the fee assessed in its December 14th response pertaining to the segregation of records is provided consistent with G. L. c. 66, § lO(d). Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Karp with a response concerning its fee

Tracy K. Kenney SPR19/401 Page 3 February 27, 2019 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: Richard Karp