Collin Dias v. Somerset, Town of (SPR 20200432)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supen1/sor ofR ecords March 12, 2020 SPR20/0432 Richard Brown Town Administrator Town of Somerset 140 Wood Street Somerset, MA 02726 Dear Mr. Brown: I have received the petition of Collin Dias appealing the response of the Town of Somerset (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. Dias requested ce1iain police reports, accident reports, vehicle violation tickets and related records. On February 28, 2020, the Town provided Mr. Dias with a response which included a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the Town's response, Mr. Dias petitioned this office and SPR20/0432 was opened as a result. Fees - Municipalities If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § IO(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, § 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 how if such rate is 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

Richard Brown SPR20/0432 Page 2 March 12, 2020 approved by the Supervisor 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10( d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4 ). The Town's February 281 Fee Estimate ,, In its February 281 h response, the Town states "This request seems to me to be overbroad. Given that that we would be looking with a 40 year time frame, we would estimate that approximately 40 hours of work at 25.00 per hour would be required. Once we receive a payment of $1,000.00 wewill be gin gathering the records requested." The Town's fee estimate has not explained with specificity why the indicated amount of time is necessary for producing the requested records. The Town has not provided sufficient explanation to explain why 40 hours is necessary to comply with the records request. Specifically, the Town must clarify what tasks are necessary to provide the records. Further, the Town states that it is assessing a rate of $25.00 per hour, however, the Town did not explain whether this is the lowest paid employee capable of conducting the tasks necessary to comply with Mr. Dias's request. Finally, the Town is advised that a municipality is not permitted to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records unless segregation is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town is also advised 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). The Town and Mr. Dias are encouraged to communicate further to better allow the Town to provide responsive records more efficiently and affordably. Mr. Dias may wish to narrow his request to include a shorter time periods or specific incidents. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i). The Town must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Dias 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.

Richard Brown SPR20/0432 Page 3 March 12, 2020 Sincerely, ·~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Collin Dias