Collin Dias v. Fall River, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20201399)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 18, 2020 SPR20/1399 Allison Bouchard Office of the City Clerk City of Fall River One Government Center, Room 227 Fall River, MA 02722 Dear Ms. Bouchard: I have received the petition of Collin Dias appealing the response of the City of Fall River (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 3, 2020, Mr. Dias requested copies of “[a]ny approved grant which the City of Fall River Applied for. I ask for all records from January of 2016 through November of 2019.” The City responded on August 12, 2020, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. Dias petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1399, 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, § 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 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

Allison Bouchard SPR20/1399 Page 2 August 18, 2020 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 City’s August 12th fee estimate In its August 12, 2020 estimate, the City indicated that it would require 30 days to provide responsive records after receipt of payment and provided the following: First 2 hours of labor Free 3 hours of labor 3 hours @ $28/hr Copies 3,000 pages @ $0.10 Total $384.00 Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that on August 17, 2020, the City provided Mr. Dias with a supplemental response which included a revised fee estimate pertaining to this request. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Dias may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety calendar days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Collin Dias