Scott E. McGowan v. Williamstown, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20213043)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 30, 2021 SPR21/3043 Nicole Perdini Town Clerk Town of Williamstown 31 North Street Williamstown, MA 01247 Dear Ms. Perdini: I have received the petition of Scott E. McGowan appealing the response of the Town of Williamstown (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 1, 2021, Mr. McGowan requested the following records in the possession of the Williamstown Fire District, which include memoranda, emails, notes, text messages, and telephone records: 1. Any and all records … of the Williamstown Fire Districts Rules and Regulations. 2. Any and all records … of the Williamstown Fire District's social media policy for all department members. 3. Any and all … payroll records for [named] Assistant Chief … from January 1, 2011, and the time of response to this request. 4. Any and all … payroll records for [named] Assistant Chief… from January 1, 2013, until December 31, 2017. The Town responded on November 15, 2021. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. McGowan petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/3043, 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). 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

Nicole Perdini SPR21/3043 Page 2 November 30, 2021 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). The Town’s November 15th Fee Estimate In its response, the Town assessed a fee of $390.00 and stated that it would take 14 hours “to locate and review the requested records, with the average hourly rate of the lowest paid employee capable of performing such work for $25.00.” The Town also asserted that “… at this time there are 200 pages [to] be copied at $.20 per page for a total of $40.00.” The Town's fee estimate has not explained with specificity why the indicated amount of time is necessary for producing the requested records. The Town has not provided sufficient explanation to explain why 14 hours of search time is necessary to comply with the records request and is in conformity with G. L. c. 66, §10(d). The City must clarify how much time is needed to search, how much time is needed to segregate and/or redact as required by law and must explain what tasks are necessary to provide the records. Further, the City's fee estimate charge of $0.20 copying per page is not in compliance with 950 CMR 32.07(2)(e) which provides that the charge for black and white copies of records shall not exceed five cents per page. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. McGowan 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.

Nicole Perdini SPR21/3043 Page 3 November 30, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Scott E. McGowan