Russell Williston v. Lancaster, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20221238)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 7, 2022 SPR22/1103 Kate Hodges Town Administrator Town of Lancaster 701 Main Street Lancaster, MA 01523 Dear Ms. Hodges: I have received the petition of Russ Williston appealing the response of the Town of Lancaster (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 22, 2022, Mr. Williston requested payroll records from the Town. On May 10, 2022, the Town responded. Prior Appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR22/1103 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 24, 2022). Unsatisfied with the Town’s May 10, 2022 and May 23, 2022 responses, Mr. Williston petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1238, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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, 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

Kate Hodges SPR22/1238 Page 2 June 7, 2022 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 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town’s May 23rd response In its May 23rd response the Town states, “…the only way to produce what you are looking for relative to the years of service you indicated would be to run a report on each individual employee and redact the personal information (PII) contained therein. There are approximately 70 individuals on the Town’s payroll. If redaction takes approximately 6 minutes per record, that leaves us with approximately 7 hours of staff time or $175 total due.” Based on the Town’s response, it is unclear why the Town requires the amount of time indicated to produce the requested records. Specifically, it is unclear why 6 per record is necessary. Additionally, the Town 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 Town must clarify these matters. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide a response to Mr. Williston, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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: Russ Williston