Rick Paris v. Mount Greylock Regional School District (SPR 20190833)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords May 7, 2019 SPR19/0833 Mr. Jonathan Nopper Mount Greylock Regional School District 1781 Cold Spring Road, Suite 1 Williamstown, MA 01267-2770 Dear Mr. Nopper: I have received the petition of Mr. Rick Paris appealing the fee estimate of the Mount Greylock Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on March 18, 2019, Mr. Paris requested "all phone conversations, emails, and text messages between Superintendent Kim Grady and School Committee member Regina DiLego regarding [Mr. Paris] and/or Lanesborough Elementary School between the dates of December 2017 and March 13, 2019." On April 16, 2019, the District responded to Mr. Paris' request with a fee estimate. The District estimated that it will take 8 hours for "the Superintendent to parse through emails between herself and Regina DiLego in order to ascertain any and all that are subject to release pursuant to this request." · Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Paris petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPRl 9/0833, was opened as a 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, § 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 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 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, § 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, 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

Mr. Jonathan Nopper SPR19/0833 Page2 May 7, 2019 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, § lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4 )(g) provides that "petitions seeking a waiver of statutory limits to fees assessed to segregate and/or redact public records must be made within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records." The District's April 16th Response The District's April 16th response indicated that the anticipated time to complete the request is 8 hours, charged at a rate of $25 per hour, with the fee for the first two hours waived. I find the District must explain why eight hours will be needed to produce the records. Specifically, it must describe how much time will be needed to search for the records versus how much time will be needed to segregate and/or redact. The District must also explain whether the redactions are required by law. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii) (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)); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Further, it is unclear whether the District is within municipalities that have 20,000 people or less. See id. (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). In addition, it is unclear whether the hourly rate being charged is that of the lowest-paid clerical or professional employee capable of preforming the task. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Paris a revised response in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law, its Regulations, and this order 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 cc: Rick Paris Supervisor of Records