Andrew Quemere v. Barnstable, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20222024)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 16, 2022 SPR22/2024 Danielle Paradis Records/Property Supervisor Barnstable Police Department 1200 Phinney’s Lane Hyannis, MA 02061 Dear Ms. Paradis: I have received the petition of Andrew Quemere appealing the response of the Barnstable Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 9, 2022, Mr. Quemere requested numerous documents regarding the Department’s current use-of-force policies. The Department responded on August 22, 2022, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Quemere petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/2024, 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 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). 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

Danielle Paradis SPR22/2024 Page 2 September 16, 2022 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 Department’s August 22nd Fee Estimate In its August 22, 2022 estimate, the Department advised, “…the estimated cost of production is One Hundred dollars ($100). This estimate assumes time to identify, run reports and prepare the requested records of 6 hours at a rate of $25 dollars per hour with the first two (2) hours waived.” The Department further advised, “… the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill to complete the search and report processing is $46.41 per hour, we will not petition the Supervisor of Public Records for a rate increase. Please be advised that any records produced will be redacted as permitted by applicable law.” Although the Department has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing responsive documents for production will take 6 hours of employee time, it is unclear how the Department requires this many hours to produce responsive records. It is not clear from the Department’s estimate how many hours are allocated to search, and how many hours are allocated for segregation, and redaction of the records. The Department must clarify these matters. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Quemere 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, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Quemere