Elizabeth Schafer v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20222462)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 15, 2022 SPR22/2462 Amanda Williams Records Clerk Brookline Police Department 350 Washington Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Ms. Williams: I have received the petition of Elizabeth Schafer appealing the response of the Brookline Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 21, 2022, Ms. Schafer requested “a list of all Larimore databases currently in use by BPD.” For each database, she further requested “any record layouts, data dictionaries, code tables, or other types of manuals that define, in plain English, the meaning of the column headers, and any codes, acronyms, abbreviations or other shorthand terms used for entries in the data.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR22/1532 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 19, 2022). In my July 19th determination, I ordered the Department to clarify its claims under Exemption (g) and to identify the records in its possession that are responsive to the request. Subsequently, the Department responded on August 1, 2022, providing a fee estimate to Ms. Shafer. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, and objecting to the fees, Ms. Shafer appealed, and this case was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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

Amanda Williams SPR22/2462 Page 2 November 15, 2022 It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Att’y for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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. Fee Estimates - Municipalities 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 2 (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). The Department’s August 1st Response In its August 1, 2022 response, the Department provides a fee estimate, indicating that it will require 30 hours to compile and redact responsive records. Current Appeal In her October 30, 2022 appeal petition, Ms. Shafer contends that “much of what this estimate discusses isn’t relevant to the data [she] requested.” She also states that the Department “gave [her] the Director of Technology’s contact information, but [she is] not comfortable proceeding until [she has] an accurate estimate for what [she is] asking for.” She also states that in her August 31, 2022 email to the Department, she was “trying to clarify what [her] initial request actually was.”

Amanda Williams SPR22/2462 Page 3 November 15, 2022 In her August 31st email to the Department, Ms. Shafer states that she is “not asking for any records within these databases, but instead, a description of how the database is structured (similar to asking for a blank form).” Based on the clarifications provided in Ms. Shafer’s October 30th appeal petition, and August 31st email, I find it unnecessary to opine on the Department’s August 1st fee estimate. Additionally, I understand the Department attempted to contact Ms. Shafer through its Information Technology Officer to discuss the scope of her request. This office encourages Ms. Shafer and the Department to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Ms. Shafer with a response to her request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Elizabeth Schafer