Amanda Beland v. Millville, Town of, Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20200207)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 19, 2020 SPR20/0207 Diane C. Lockwood Town Clerk Town of Millville 290 Main Street Millville, MA 01529. Dear Ms. Lockwood: I have received the petition of Amanda Beland of WGBH News appealing the response of the Town of Millville (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see. also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Beland requested" ... copies of every host community agreement approved for recreational marijuana businesses - dispensaries, cultivators etc ...." The Town responded on December 5, 2019, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Ms. Beland petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/0207, was opened as a result. Fee estimates - municipalities 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, § IO(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, § lO(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, § 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, 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). 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

Diane C. Lockwood SPR20/0207 Page 2 February 19, 2020 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 Town's December 5t1, fee estimate In its December 5th fee estimate, the Town indicates that it estimates that it will require one hour to fulfill the request. In her appeal petition, Ms. Beland states that "[i]n Millville, there is one agreement to be scanned, which I'd argue shouldn't cost $25. Host community agreements are common, readily available records." The Public Records Law provides that in cases where necessary to reproduce the requested records a records access officer may charge a fee to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a requested record based on the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task. G. L. c. 66, § lO(d); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). The reasonable fee for reproduction shall not exceed the actual cost of reproducing the record. Id. Although the Town claims it has to access a fee to produce responsive records, it is unclear how the Town reached the estimate of $25. Specifically, it is tincertain whether the Town is assessing a fee for time to search for, compile, segregate, redact, or reproduce records. It is also unclear whether the Town is using the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee capable of performing the work. Based on the foregoing, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed is expressly provided for and consistent with G. L. C. 66, §lO(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Beland with a response to the request in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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: Amanda Beland