Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20222072)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 22, 2022 SPR22/2072 Patricia E. Dzuris Public Records Compliance Officer Town of Chelmsford 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. Dzuris: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the fee estimate response of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, §10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 6, 2022, Mr. Mazurczyk requested: [1] Invoices for the month of July 2021 of Verizon accounts #786801404-00001 and #481485108-00002. Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR22/0150 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 3, 2022); SPR22/0537 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 17, 2022); SPR22/0940 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 4, 2022), and SPR22/1674 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 3, 2022). The Town responded on August 16, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/2072, was opened as a result. Fees -Municipalities 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 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

Patricia E. Dzuris SPR22/2072 Page 2 September 22, 2022 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, 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 how 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 August 16th Fee Estimate response In the Town’s August 16, 2022 response, the Town advised, “… the Town has responded to this request on multiple occasions. The first such occasion was the response on July 27, 2021.” The Town further stated, “… the Town is only charging a fee as it relates to the costs associated with information required to be redacted by statute …” Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Mazurczyk asserts that “[the] Town failed to respond, provide records, within the timeframe required by the Public Records Law.” Timeliness of Fee Pursuant to G. L. c. 66 § 10(e) and 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2)(c), “[a] records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days. The Town is advised in order to assess a fee for the requested records, it must demonstrate that it provided a response in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). The Town must clarify this. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Mazurczyk with a response to the request, 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.

Patricia E. Dzuris SPR22/2072 Page 3 September 22, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk Paul Haverty, Esq.