Roxanne Gunther v. Monson, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20231955)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 6, 2023 SPR23/1955 Mary F. Watson Monson Town Clerk Town of Monson 110 Main Street Monson, MA 01057 Dear Ms. Watson: I have received a petition from Roxanne Gunther appealing the response of the Town of Monson (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 8, 2023, Ms. Gunther requested “the complaint letters for violations at [a specified address].” The Town responded on August 22, 2023. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Gunther petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/1955, 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). 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 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

Mary F. Watson SPR23/1955 Page 2 September 6, 2023 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 22nd Fee Estimate In its August 22, 2023 response, the Town provided a fee estimate of $24.01 and itemized the estimate as follows: Number of Copies: 0 Hours required to complete the request: 1 Hourly rate (at the lowest hourly rate of person completing request no more than $25): $24.01 Total Search Fees: $24.01 Total segregate and/or redact Fees: $0.00 Total Cost Good Faith Estimate: $24.01 Current appeal In her appeal, Ms. Gunther states, “[t]his should have just been a matter of opening up the two files and making copies and should have taken no more than a few minutes.” Although the Town has estimated that the process of searching for the responsive records for production will take 1 hour of employee time, it is unclear the tasks involved in searching for these records. Also, the Town must clarify if it factored in the first free 2 hours to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce records. 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). The Town must clarify. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed in its August 22nd estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Gunther 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us.

Mary F. Watson SPR23/1955 Page 3 September 6, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Roxanne Gunther