Kevin Ksen v. Framingham, City of (SPR 20191359)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray S11pen>isor of Records July 19, 2019 SPR19/1359 Todd C. Palmer Super Records Access Officer City of Framingham 150 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Mr. Palmer: I have received the petition of Kevin Ksen appealing the response of the City of Framingham (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Ksen requested financial records within the possession of the City. Mr. Ksen subsequently narrowed the scope of his request. The City provided a fee estimate of $3150.00. On July 9, 2019, Mr. Ksen petitioned this office appealing the City's fee estimate and this appeal was opened as a result. Fee estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10( d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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 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, § IO(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 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

Todd Palmer SPR19/1359 Page 2 July 19, 2019 petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Tlte City's response In its July 25th response, the City provided an estimated cost of $3150.00. The City's estimate shows a total of 126 hours at a rate of $25 per hour. The City concludes by indicating that the cost is an estimate and the actual cost may vary. In his appeal petition Mr. Ksen notes that when he had asked "for a detailed estimate" for purposes of knowing what the City "intended to do for 126 hours and $3,150" the City refused. Mr. Ksen further asserts that the City has "not identified categories of portions of records in their possession." In an email communication to this office, an agent of the City explains that the estimated 1,642 emails "was actually only 1/3 of the emails" and that there would likely "be a lot of overlap." The City also explains that "[t]he Mayor's office estimated 530 emails." It should be noted that in his appeal Mr. Ksen indicated that he "was not seeking any email correspondence, only documents." I find the City must explain why approximately 126 hours will be needed to produce the records; specifically, it must describe how much time will be needed to search for the records as well as how much time, if any, is needed to segregate and/or redact. The City 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, § 10(d )(iv)). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Ksen a 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 Supervisor of Records cc: Kevin Ksen