Joe Difazio v. Weymouth, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20210166)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 8, 2021 SPR21/0166 Eileen Pitts Weymouth Public Schools 111 Middle Street Weymouth, MA 02189 Dear Ms. Pitts: I have received the petition of Joe DiFazio of The Patriot Ledger appealing the response of the Weymouth Public Schools (School) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 12, 2021, Mr. DiFazio requested the following: “[1] Any and all contracts, agreements of any kind, or memorandums of understandings with . . . Public Relations LLC or . . . [2] Any invoices, receipts, records of payment, bills and other payment arrangements, monetary or otherwise, between Weymouth Public Schools and . . . Public Relations LLC or . . . between Jan. 1 2018 and Jan. 12, 2021[.]” The School responded on January 20, 2021, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. DiFazio petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/0166, was opened as a result. Fee estimate – 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 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

Eileen Pitts SPR21/0166 Page 2 February 8, 2021 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 petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in an email correspondence dated January 26, 2021, this office was notified by the School that responsive records had been provided to Mr. DiFazio. On January 27, 2021, Mr. DiFazio notified this office that he no longer wishes to proceed with the appeal. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Joe DiFazio