Gerrit Blauvelt v. North Adams, City of - City Administrator (SPR 20212029)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 24, 2021 SPR21/2029 Angie Lopes Ellison City Administrator City of North Adams 10 Main Street North Adams, MA 01247 Dear Ms. Ellison: I have received the petition of Gerrit Blauvelt appealing the response of the City of North Adams (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On, May 18, 2021, Mr. Blauvelt submitted a modified request for the following records: [t]he workbook provided to Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) members prior to the meeting held on June 4, 2019 … Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR21/1444 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 18, 2021); SPR21/1852 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 10, 2021). In my August 10th determination, I found that Mr. Blauvelt’s modified request was not included in the appeal. On August 11th, Mr. Blauvelt petitioned the Supervisor of Records, and this appeal, SPR21/2029 was opened as a result. 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 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

Angie Lopes Ellison SPR21/2029 Page 2 August 24, 2021 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). The City’s June 30th Fee Estimate In its June 30th response, the City explained, “[i]n order to meet Mr. Blauvelt’s modified request, a response was issued on May 28, 2021. The amount assessed for twenty-two years of records was based on an anticipated 5 minutes per record search and processing; The Commission met once a month on average, with a total of 12 per year. Each year would be an hour’s search. The total cost would have been well over $550 but we only charged $125 to make it reasonable.” The City’s July 26th Fee Estimate In its July 26th response, the City stated, “[y]ou asked for records spanning a 12-year period in which the airport commission met at least once a month. We estimate that to be about 144 folders (and records) to search. As stated previously, we estimate it would take about 5 minutes per record to search and compile, totaling 720 minutes for all the records; that would be 12 hours to search and compile 12 years’ worth of records. Our administrative assistant overseeing airport records makes more than the allowable $25 and is the employee capable of performing the task. That being said, it would be $300 to fulfil the request as outlined in the statute.” Upon review, the City's fee estimate has not explained with specificity why the estimated fee of $125 was increased to $300. Further, the City has not explained why the indicated amount of time is necessary for producing the requested records. The City must clarify how much time is needed to search, how much time is needed to segregate and redact as required by law, and must explain what tasks are necessary to provide the records. For the reasons discussed above, the City must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the $300 fee assessed in its July 26th estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d).

Angie Lopes Ellison SPR21/2029 Page 3 August 24, 2021 Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Blauvelt 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: Gerrit Blauvelt