Todd Wallack v. Chicopee, City of - Police Department (SPR 20211962)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 11, 2021 SPR21/1962 Officer Anouson Souvannasane Chicopee Police Department Records Access Officer 110 Church Street Chicopee, MA 01020 Dear Officer Souvannasane: I have received the petition of Todd Wallack of WBUR appealing the response of the Chicopee Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 6, 2021, Mr. Wallack requested an “[e]lectronic log of internal affairs complaints/investigations against sworn officers of the Chicopee Police Department as far back as [the Department] maintain[s] the log in [its] current computer system.” The Department responded on July 16, 2021, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. Wallack appealed, and this case 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 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 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

Officer Anouson Souvannasane SPR21/1962 Page 2 August 11, 2021 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 Department’s July 16th Response In its July 16, 2021 fee estimate, the Department states the following: The Department is required to devote more than 2 hours of time to search for, compile, segregate, redact and/or reproduce the requested records; and the segregation or redaction of records is required by law or the fee has been approved by the Supervisor of Public Records. The search and segregation costs have been calculated using the hourly rate of $25.00. In order to comply with your request, it will take approximately 20 hours of search and segregation time. In order to comply with your request, the total estimated reasonable fee of $500.00 will be charged. In his appeal petition, Mr. Wallack contends that the Department “declined to clarify how it calculated the estimate. It also did not detail how many hours would be spent searching for documents versus segregation.” Based on the Department’s response, it is unclear why it requires 20 hours of search and segregation time. The Department must provide further details regarding the tasks involved and what each task entails, including the time it is allocating to compiling, segregating, redacting and reproducing the requested records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Additionally, the Department must indicate whether the segregation and redaction is required by law. Under the Public Records Law, 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Consequently, the Department must explain whether its hourly rate is that of the lowest paid employee with the necessary skill. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Wallack with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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.

Officer Anouson Souvannasane SPR21/1962 Page 3 August 11, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Todd Wallack