Wayne J. Roderick v. Central Berkshire Regional School District (SPR 20211948)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 16, 2021 SPR21/1948 Greg Boino Director of Finance & Operations Central Berkshire Regional School District 254 Hinsdale Road; P.O. Box 299 Dalton, MA 01227 Dear Mr. Boino: I have received the petition of Wayne Roderick appealing the response of the Central Berkshire Regional School District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Roderick requested various records in the possession of the District related to a certain fire protection contract. Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR21/1553 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 1, 2021); SPR21/1792 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 27, 2021). The District provided a response on July 28, 2021. Unsatisfied with the District’s response, Mr. Roderick petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/1948, 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, 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

Mr. Greg Boino SPR21/1948 Page 2 August 16, 2021 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). The District ’s July 28th response On July 28, 2021, the District responded to Mr. Roderick by providing him with a fee estimate stating, “CBRSD may assess a fair and reasonable fee in order to review and prepare the requested documents, which after discussions with Mr. Boino we have determined that 2 hours of a clerk’s time at $50.00 per hour is both fair and reasonable.” The District further explained that the “receipt of a check made out to the Central Berkshire Regional School District in the amount of $100.00 the requested documents will be immediately forthcoming.” Based on the District’s response, it is unclear why the District requires the amount of time indicated to produce the requested invoice records. The District must detail the tasks required to produce these records. Additionally, the District has not explained if the hourly rate being used is that of the lowest paid employee with the necessary skill to perform the task. The District must clarify these matters. Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Roderick with a response to the request, provided 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Wayne Roderick James A Moran