Thomas Horgan v. Norfolk County Sheriff's Office (SPR 20231920)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William FrancisGalvin,Secretary oftheCommonwealth PublicRecords Division ManzaArthur SupervisorofRecords August 30,2023 SPR23/1920 CourtneyM. Madden, Esq. SeniorAdvisor& Counsel NorfolkCounty Sheriff’s Office 200WestSt Dedham, MA02027 DearAttorney Madden: Ihave receivedthepetition of ThomasHorgan appealingthe responseofthe Norfolk CountySherriff’sOffice (Office) toa request forpublic records. SeeG.L.c. 66,§10A; seealso 950C.M.R.32.08(1). OnAugust 3,2023,Mr.Horgan requested: [1.]Copies ofany andall Norfolk CountySheriff’s Office(NSO) expenditure/expense reportspertaining toa recenttrip to Irelandinvolving [named individual]and otherNSOstaff members… [2.]Copies ofany andall Norfolk CountySheriff’s Officeexpenditure/ expense reports pertainingto anyworktrips that [a named individual], and/orNSOstaff, have takenof thelast2.5years… [3.]A listofany andall equipmentand/orrenovations that have been performedat[specifiedaddress] over thelast five(5) years… [4.]A copyofall NSOcivil process expenditures ofthelast 2.5years. [5.]A listofall COVID-19 relief fundingreceived byNSOfromthe Federal Government, and/oranyother similarState/Federal agencies, from January 1,2020. [6.]The specific amount ofCOVID-19 relief fundingthat NSOreceived fromtheFederal Government, and/or anyothersimilar State/Federal agency,fromJanuary 1,2020through thepresent… TheOffice providedaresponse, including afee estimate,onAugust 10,2023. One AshburtonPlace,Room 1719,Boston,Massachusetts 02108•(617) 727-2832• Fax: (617)727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre•pre@sec.state.ma.us

CourtneyM. Madden, Esq. SPR23/1920 Page2 August 30,2023 Unsatisfiedwith theresponse, Mr.Horgan petitioned this officeandthis appeal, SPR23/1920, wasopened asa result. FeeEstimates Anagencymayassess areasonable fee forthe productionofapublic record except those recordsthat are freelyavailable for public inspection.G.L.c.66,§10(d). Thefees must reflect theactual cost ofcomplying witha particularrequest. Id.Amaximum fee offive cents($.05) per page maybeassessed fora black andwhitesingle ordouble-sided photocopyofa public record. G.L.c.66,§10(d)(i). Agenciesmaynot assessa feefor the firstfour (4) hoursofemployee time tosearch for, compile,segregate, redactorreproduce therecordorrecords requested.G.L.c. 66,§10(d)(ii). Whereappropriate, agenciesmayincludeaspart of thefee anhourlyrate equalto or less than thehourlyrate attributedto thelowest paidemployee whohas thenecessary skillrequiredto searchfor, compile,segregate,redact orreproduce arecordrequested, but thefee shallnot be morethan$25per hour.Id. Afee shall not beassessed fortime spent segregating or redactingrecords unless such segregation orredactionis requiredby lawor approvedbytheSupervisorof Recordsunder a petitionunder G.L.c. 66,§10(d)(iv). SeeG.L.c. 66,§10(d)(ii);950C.M.R.32.06(4). The Office’sAugust 10thFeeEstimate InitsAugust 10,2023response,the Officeprovided afee estimateof$1,250and itemizedtheestimate asfollows: [1.]Copies ofany andall Norfolk CountySheriff’s Office(NSO) expenditure/expense reportspertaining toa recenttrip to Irelandinvolving [named individual]and otherNSOstaff members… a.0hours [2.]Copies ofany andall Norfolk CountySheriff’s Office expenditure/expense reportspertaining toany worktrips that [a named individual], and/orNSOstaff, havetaken ofthelast 2.5years… a.Document SearchTime: 16hours i.8hours Fiscal Director ii.8hoursFiscal Specialist b.SegregationTime: 16 hours i.8hours LegalCounsel ii.8hoursParalegal [3.]A listofany andall equipmentand/orrenovations that have been performedat[specifiedaddress] over thelast five(5) years… a.Document SearchTime: 4hours i.2hours Fiscal Director ii.2hoursFiscal Specialist

CourtneyM. Madden, Esq. SPR23/1920 Page3 August 30,2023 b.SegregationTime: 2 hours i.2hours LegalCounsel [4.]A copyofall NSOcivil process expenditures ofthelast 2.5years. a.Document SearchTime: 2hours i.2hours Fiscal Director b.SegregationTime: 2 hours i.2hours LegalCounsel [5.]A listofall COVID-19 relief fundingreceived byNSOfromthe Federal Government, and/oranyother similarState/Federal agencies, from January 1,2020. a.Document SearchTime: 2hours i.2hours Fiscal Director b.SegregationTime: 2 hours i.2hours LegalCounsel [6.]The specific amount ofCOVID-19 relief fundingthat NSOreceived fromtheFederal Government, and/or anyothersimilar State/Federal agency,fromJanuary 1,2020through thepresent… a.Document SearchTime: 2hours i.2hours Fiscal Director b.SegregationTime: 2 hours i.2hours LegalCounsel [7.]Coordination ofmaterials, printing,and production.4hours a.2hoursParalegal b.2hoursExecutive OfficeAssistant TOTAL:54hours Fee:50(minus 4initialhours) x.$25=$1,250 TheOffice furtherstated, “[t]he preliminaryfee for this requestis …calculated bythetime estimatefor thelowest paidperson that isqualified tocomply with the request:fifty(50) hoursat $25perhour,in addition to theinitial4hours. Afee hasnot been assessedonthe first 4hoursofwork requiredtocomply with therequest.” Current appeal Inhis appeal, Mr.Horgan states,“[i]tisunclearwhy NSOrequires50hoursofsearch andsegregation/redaction timeto respond to theAugust 3,2023request. Particularly,it is unclearthenumber ofrecordsNSOseeks to segregateand/or redactandthenumber ofpages at issue. Itisadditionally uncertainhow manyminutesper page NSOrequiresto reviewthe responsiverecords. NSOshouldbe requiredto clarify theseissues.” Althoughthe Officehasestimated that theprocess ofsearching,reviewing and segregating theresponsiverecords for productionwilltake 50hoursofemployee time, it is unclearhowtheOffice requiresthismanyhours toproduce responsiverecords. Itis additionally uncertainwhyit would take26hoursto search fortheresponsive records.Assuch, theOffice

CourtneyM. Madden, Esq. SPR23/1920 Page4 August 30,2023 mustprovide additional informationregardingthetasks involved in producingthese records. Additionally,it isunclear howmanypages ofresponsive recordsexist andhow manyminutes perpage it willtake to segregateand redacttheresponsive records. Further,theOffice mustclarify iftheredactions are required bylaw,andstate the applicable statutes, ifany.Pursuant to thePublic RecordsLaw, afee maynot be assessed for timespent segregating orredacting recordsunless suchsegregation or redactionisrequired by laworapproved bytheSupervisorofRecords under apetition underG.L. c.66,§10(d)(iv). See G.L.c.66,§10(d)(ii); 950C.M.R.32.06(4). Inaddition, theOfficeindicates that itwill charge4hours for,“[c]oordinationof materials,printing, andproduction.” However, itis unclearhowtheOffice mayassessa fee for coordinationofmaterials underG. L.c.66,§10(d)(iii). SeeG. L.c.66,§10(d)(iv) (requiring theamount ofthefee bereasonable). Iencourage Mr.Horgan andtheOffice to communicate inorder to facilitate producing recordsefficiently andaffordably. Mr.Horgan maywish to narrowtheparameters orinclude factorsto enablethe searchto beprocessed. G.L.c.66,§l0(a)(i).The Officemust useits knowledge oftherecordsto facilitate providing anyresponsive records.G.L. c.66,§l0(a)(vii) (anagency ormunicipality shallsuggest areasonable modification of thescopeofthe request or offerto assist therequestortomodify thescopeofthe request ifdoingso would enable the agencyormunicipality to produce recordssoughtmore efficiently andaffordably). For thereasons discussedabove, Ifindthe Officemustrevise itsfee estimateorprovide furtherexplanationof howthefee assessed in itsAugust 10thestimate isconsistent with G.L.c. 66,§10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, theOfficeis orderedto provideMr. Horgan witha response to therequest, providedin amanner consistent with this order,thePublic Records Law, anditsRegulations within10business days.A copyofany suchresponse must beprovided tothis office.Itis preferableto sendanelectronic copyofthis response to thisofficeatpre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur SupervisorofRecords cc:ThomasHorgan