Kevin Mutti v. Lynnfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20211153)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 13, 2021 SPR21/1153 Linda A. Emerson, Town Clerk Town of Lynnfield Town Hall 55 Summer Street Lynnfield, MA 01940 Dear Ms. Emerson: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Lynnfield (Town) requesting permission to charge an hourly rate over $25 under G. L. 66, § 10(d)(iv). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). On May 3, 2021, Kevin Mutti from the Lynnfield Fire Fighters Local 2472 requested several categories related to a successor agreement including: 1. Copies of the Town's internally prepared Financial Statements for FYI9 and separately for FY20, for all funds especially the General, Special Revenue, Capital Projects, Internal Service, and Trust and Agency Funds. 2. Any reports received from any bond rating agencies since May 30, 2018. 3. Copies of the Management Letters issued by the Town's outside auditors in connection with their FYI 8, FY19, and FY20 audits. 4. Copies of all Town Assessors' declarations of overlay surplus since January 1, 2018. 5. Reports by Budget Line Item/Account for General Fund Revenues and Expenditures, showing budgeted and actual amounts for FY20, and separately for FY21. 6. A copy of the Town's final FY21 budget as voted with line item detail, along with a detailed copy of related detailed backups and presentation documents, 7. General Ledger trial balances for FY19, and separately for FY20 for all accounts by fund along with a listing of all balance sheet account balances by fund at 6/30/19 and 6/30/20 if such detail is not included in the General Ledger trial balance listings. 8. Electronic worksheets in Excel format showing calendar 2019 earnings, and separately calendar 2020 earnings, by employee for the Police Department, and for the Fire Department, showing name, rank, employee class or title, appointment/seniority date, total earnings, overtime earnings, educational incentive/ "Quinn" earnings, detail earnings, retroactive earnings, and any other earnings by type. 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

Linda A. Emerson SPR21/1153 Page 2 May 13, 2021 9. Copies of employment agreements in effect for the Police Chief, Fire Chief, and Town Administrator along with copies of the Town's wage plan and/or employment agreements in effect for other Town non-represented employees. 10. A listing of ambulance revenues by fiscal year for FYI 5 to FY20 and FY21 to date. 11. Copies of all documents prepared for and/or submitted to state or federal agencies relating to COVID-19 impacts and financial support and/or reimbursement for same. 12. Copies of all documents submitted to or received from the Department of Revenue, and the Department of Administration and Finance since March 1, 2019. This is meant to include documents relating to DOR's initial certification of Free Cash for FY21 (as of 6/30/20), and to certification of the Town's Tax Rates and Levy for FY21, along with any other applicable documents. 13. A copy of the Town's most recent 5 year financial forecast. 14. Copies of CBA's/MOA's in effect for all Town and School bargaining units along with MOA's relating to all such CBA's currently in effect. 15. A listing of all wage increases, from 5/30/18 to the present, granted to Town elected officials and management employees and staff not covered by collective bargaining agreements. 16. A copy of the most recent actuarial valuation of the Town's Other Post-Employment Benefits and any related reports. 17. A copy of the most recent actuarial valuation of the Town's Pension Plan and any related reports. 18. A listing of all transactions posted to the Town's Free Cash, Stabilization, and Emergency Expenditure accounts in FYI 9, and in FY20, and in FY21 to date, along with supporting documentation. (Emergency Expenditure accounts refer to those outlined in DOR DLS BUL- 2020-7.) Petition to Assess Fees 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 (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). In rendering such a decision, the Supervisor is required to consider the following: a) the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records; b) the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees; and c) any other relevant extenuating circumstances. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve an agency's petition to allow the agency to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records. The first prong is whether the request for records was made for a commercial purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). It is my determination that this request was not made for a commercial purpose.

Linda A. Emerson SPR21/1153 Page 3 May 13, 2021 The second prong of the test is whether the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the agency to comply with the request. The Supervisor must consider 1) if the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction or segregation; 2) the amount of the fee is reasonable; and 3) the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records. Id. Petitions seeking a waiver of statutory limits to fees assessed to segregate and/or redact public records must be made within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Fee Estimates 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 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 petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Petitions relating to fees must be submitted to the Supervisor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Current Petition In its petition dated May 6, 2021, the Town requests approval to assess fees for “the extensive public records request attached.” The Town has indicated it has “done our due diligence to determine who has superior knowledge of the information sought..in this case the controller.” The Town requests “an adjustment in the hourly rate to equal her rate of pay which is $69.72 per hour.” However, it is unclear if this is the lowest paid employee capable of fulfilling this request.

Linda A. Emerson SPR21/1153 Page 4 May 13, 2021 Conclusion Accordingly, I find that in light of the lack of explanation in the Town’s petition, the Town has not established good cause to warrant approval assessing this proposed fee to respond to this request at this time. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Kevin Mutti