Rob Fasulo v. Mansfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20202405)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 17, 2020 SPR20/2405 Marianne Staples Town Clerk Town of Mansfield 6 Park Row, 2nd Floor Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Ms. Staples: I have received the petition of Rob Fasulo appealing the response of the Town of Mansfield (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Fasulo requested “an electronic copy of the most recent registered voter list for your municipality.” The Town responded on November 30, 2020, providing a fee estimate totaling $50.65 for the production of responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Town’s fee estimate, Mr. Fasulo petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/2405, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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, § 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, 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

Marianne Staples SPR20/2405 Page 2 December 17, 2020 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 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town’s Fee Estimate In its November 30th fee estimate, the Town states that the requested records totals “2,026 pages or 1,013 double sided pages @ $.05 each” resulting in a fee estimate of $50.65. In his November 26th request, Mr. Fasulo requested an “electronic copy of the most recent registered voter list for your municipality.” Please be advised that pursuant to the Public Records Law, “[t]he records access officer shall, to the extent feasible, provide the public record in the requestor’s preferred format or, in the absence of a preferred format, in a searchable, machine readable format.” See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). Accordingly, whereas Mr. Fasulo has indicated that he prefers to receive records in electronic format, I find the Town has not demonstrated that it may charge for the production of records in hard copy at this time. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Fasulo with a response to the request, provided 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: Rob Fasulo