Scott E. McGowan v. Williamstown, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20213248)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 24, 2021 SPR21/3248 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 includes 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. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/3043 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 30, 2021). The Town responded on December 9, 2021. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. McGowan petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR21/3248, 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 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 SPR21/3248 Page 2 December 24, 2021 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). The Town’s December 9th Fee Estimate In its response, the Town revised its fee estimate to $160.00 and stated that it would take “6 hours of work at $25 per hour for a total of $150.00 [and] … 200 pages will be copied at a fee of $0.05 per page for $10.00.” The Town’s fee estimate has not explained what tasks are necessary to provide the records. The Town must identify the tasks involved, and provide further details regarding what each task entails. Also, the Town’s estimate does not make clear how many hours were allocated to search, segregation or redaction of the records. Therefore, the Town must clarify this estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Further, the Town is reminded it cannot charge a requestor for the time it takes to search for responsive records based on the organization and management of its records. Public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). For the reasons discussed above, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed in its December 9th estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. McGowan with a response to the request,

Nicole Perdini SPR21/3248 Page 3 December 24, 2021 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: Scott E. McGowan